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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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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: trunk · straw · coach · wake · roll · court · capital · branch

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. capital — money
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. roll — a list
  8. wake — a trail
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. court — of law
  13. capital — a city
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. roll — a cake
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. court — for sport
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. court — of a king

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