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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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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: court · rest · file · jam · capital · mine · branch · sharp

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. file — a document
  6. court — of a king
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. capital — money
  10. rest — a break
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. rest — what's left
  16. sharp — clever
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. capital — a city
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. branch — a division
  24. mine — an explosive

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