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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 116 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bat — the animal
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. capital — a city
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. lean — to bend
  9. staff — employees
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wind — moving air
  14. branch — a division
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. staff — a stick
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. lean — thin
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. wind — moving air
  24. staff — employees

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