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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 116 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: pitcher · court · mark · capital · branch · present · track · pop

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. present — a gift
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. track — a path
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pop — soda
  7. branch — a division
  8. track — a song
  9. court — of a king
  10. present — the time now
  11. capital — money
  12. court — for sport
  13. mark — a trace
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. pop — to visit
  17. present — there
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. track — to keep track
  20. pop — music
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. capital — a city
  24. pitcher — a jug

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