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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 120 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: coach · branch · wax · race · capital · squash · board · fine

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. capital — money
  3. fine — all right
  4. race — a contest
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. board — a committee
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — the sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. race — humankind
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. capital — a city
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wax — to grow
  22. squash — to crush
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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