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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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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: trunk · row · toast · field · fork · capital · branch · straw

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. row — a line
  3. capital — a city
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. field — for sport
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. row — to paddle
  11. toast — bread
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fork — in a road
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. row — a quarrel

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