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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: capital · branch · scale · fan · wound · court · tube · swing

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. branch — a division
  3. court — of a king
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — a container
  11. court — for sport
  12. scale — size or range
  13. capital — money
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. capital — a city
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. scale — in music
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. court — of law
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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