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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: coach · branch · roll · last · capital · track · mug · hand

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mug — a cup
  4. last — final
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. roll — a cake
  8. mug — a face
  9. last — to go on
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. track — a path
  13. hand — help
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — money
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. track — to keep track
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. branch — a division
  22. track — a song
  23. roll — a list
  24. hand — in cards

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