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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. file — a document
  4. capital — money
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. file — a line of people
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. capital — a city
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bark — to shout
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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