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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: saw · fall · swing · coach · capital · trunk · wave · wound

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. swing — to play on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wound — an injury
  9. capital — a city
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. capital — money
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fall — the season
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com