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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. tube — a container
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — a city
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. prune — to trim
  10. branch — a division
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. capital — money
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury

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