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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 120 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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. capital — money
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bank — for money
  7. branch — a division
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bank — of a river
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. capital — a city
  17. face — to point toward
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — of a plant
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. root — the cause
  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