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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · suit · court · racket · clip · tube · branch · row

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. court — of law
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. suit — clothes
  6. clip — a video
  7. tube — the underground
  8. suit — to fit
  9. row — to paddle
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — for sport
  12. clip — to cut
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. branch — a division
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — money
  18. row — a line
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. capital — a city
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. clip — for paper
  24. suit — 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