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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. capital — a city
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rule — government
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. swing — in golf
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. swing — music
  16. rule — a law
  17. swing — to play on
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. capital — money

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