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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. capital — money
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. plane — a tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. stock — goods
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stock — shares
  18. can — a tin
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. deal — to handle
  21. date — the fruit
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. branch — a division
  24. capital — a city

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