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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · trunk · branch · hand · capital · hide · swing · kid

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. kid — to tease
  3. branch — a division
  4. capital — a city
  5. swing — to play on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. can — to be able to
  10. hand — help
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. swing — in golf
  13. kid — child
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. capital — money
  16. can — a tin
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. can — a tin
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hand — in cards
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. swing — music

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