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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 116 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. shower — rain
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. branch — a division
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. lie — to recline
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chair — a leader
  19. shower — to wash
  20. scale — in music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. scale — size or range
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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