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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. season — in sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. season — of the year
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. chest — a box
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a city
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chest — of your body

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