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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. last — finally
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. capital — money
  6. last — final
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. file — a tool
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. branch — a division
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. file — a document
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wax — to grow
  21. last — to go on
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. capital — a city

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