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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. branch — a division
  3. file — a line of people
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. lean — to bend
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. mark — a trace
  10. capital — a city
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a tool
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. lean — thin
  18. mark — a grade
  19. kick — in football
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a document
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. squash — the vegetable

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