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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. season — of the year
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. capital — a city
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — money

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