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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: last · key · clip · capital · branch · trunk · spell · coach

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. branch — a division
  3. last — final
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. clip — to cut
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. capital — money
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. key — for a lock
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — a video
  18. key — the most important part
  19. key — in music
  20. spell — letters
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. last — finally

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