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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: roll · racket · last · kid · club · branch · calf · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. kid — to tease
  5. last — finally
  6. roll — a cake
  7. club — for golf
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. club — a group
  13. kid — child
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. club — for dancing
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. roll — a list
  22. capital — money
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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