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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cap — a lid
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mark — a grade
  12. branch — a division
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. kid — child
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cap — a hat
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — money
  24. fork — in a road

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