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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. spell — letters
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rule — a law
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bound — obliged
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bound — certain
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. branch — a division
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rule — government
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. capital — a city
  24. deal — to handle

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