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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. capital — money
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fall — to drop
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. branch — a division
  15. bank — of a river
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — happy
  22. capital — a city
  23. bank — for money
  24. fall — the season

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