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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: march · ball · branch · capital · ground · hand · track · land

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. track — a song
  3. land — to come down
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. capital — a city
  8. ground — the earth
  9. march — music
  10. land — a country
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — help
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. ball — a great time
  16. branch — a division
  17. land — ground
  18. march — the month
  19. track — a path
  20. hand — in cards
  21. ground — crushed
  22. capital — money
  23. ground — a position
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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