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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: branch · tube · capital · kid · mark · pass · sharp · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. kid — to tease
  3. branch — a division
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. capital — money
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. capital — a city
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a trace
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. tube — the underground
  18. kid — child
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. pass — a permit
  21. mark — a grade
  22. sharp — clever
  23. tube — a container
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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