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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: deal · rash · ruler · march · staff · capital · coach · branch

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. staff — a stick
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. branch — a division
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. rash — hasty
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — employees
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. march — the month
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. staff — employees
  21. capital — a city
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rash — a series

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