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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: calf · mine · branch · staff · track · capital · press · content

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. press — to push
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. content — happy
  11. press — newspapers
  12. capital — money
  13. content — the amount
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. staff — a stick
  16. mine — for digging
  17. track — a path
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. press — a publisher
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. capital — a city
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. content — videos and posts

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