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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. spring — a coil
  3. branch — a division
  4. court — of a king
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — of water
  7. capital — a city
  8. current — of water
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rash — hasty
  11. court — for sport
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. court — of law
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. spring — the season
  20. can — a tin
  21. pitch — completely
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. can — a tin

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