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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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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stock — shares
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cue — a hint
  14. clip — a video
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. branch — a division
  17. stock — goods
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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