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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · branch · date · dip · tear · capital

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. race — humankind
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. branch — a division
  8. date — the fruit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — to sink
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. tear — to rip
  18. dip — to dunk

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