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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. file — a document
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stand — to bear
  10. court — for sport
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. court — of law
  14. shower — rain
  15. branch — a division
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a city
  20. bear — the animal
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. court — of a king
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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