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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. object — a thing
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. club — for golf
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — a city
  9. last — final
  10. lean — to bend
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. club — for dancing
  13. capital — money
  14. row — a line
  15. object — to protest
  16. row — to paddle
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fork — in a road
  19. club — a group
  20. object — an aim
  21. lean — thin
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — finally
  24. branch — of a tree

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