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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: track · cell · sharp · pitcher · plane · capital · content · branch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. content — happy
  8. track — a path
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. capital — money
  14. cell — a phone
  15. plane — a tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. track — a song
  19. cell — in biology
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. track — to keep track
  24. content — videos and posts

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