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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 · mark · court · chip · saw · capital · trunk · dip

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mark — a trace
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — for sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. court — of law
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. saw — the tool
  21. chip — to eat
  22. capital — a city
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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