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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. court — of a king
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — a song
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. track — a path
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — a city
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. march — music
  14. file — a line of people
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. file — a tool
  17. court — for sport
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. track — to keep track
  21. board — to get on
  22. capital — money
  23. board — a committee
  24. file — a document

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