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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: kick · branch · rule · squash · capital · field

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. field — for sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. capital — money
  6. squash — the sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. squash — to crush
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rule — government
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. branch — a division
  13. field — farmland
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kick — in football
  17. rule — a law
  18. capital — a big letter

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