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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 · stock · object · plane · lash · hand · branch · capital

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. branch — a division
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. capital — money
  7. hand — in cards
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. plane — a tool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. stock — goods
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. object — an aim
  21. stock — shares
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. capital — a big letter

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