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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: foot · tube · trunk · branch · capital · track · perch · lean

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. track — a path
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. perch — the fish
  9. tube — the underground
  10. lean — thin
  11. tube — a container
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. branch — a division
  23. track — a song
  24. lean — to bend

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