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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. capital — a city
  3. track — a path
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. content — happy
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. track — to keep track
  9. branch — a division
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. file — a tool
  12. capital — money
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. hand — help
  15. file — a line of people
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. content — the amount
  21. track — a song
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. hand — in cards

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