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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 · coach · bulb · branch · wax · dip · stock · tear

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. branch — a division
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. capital — a city
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. tear — from crying
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. stock — shares
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. dip — to sink
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bulb — for light
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stock — goods
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. branch — of a tree

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