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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. court — for sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stock — goods
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pop — music
  12. court — of law
  13. pop — soda
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bear — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bear — the animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pop — to visit
  23. capital — a city
  24. court — of a king

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