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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. sharp — clever
  17. branch — a division
  18. capital — money
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. file — a line of people

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