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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: dip · march · capital · row · bat · wake · branch · stand

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. march — music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stand — to bear
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bat — the animal
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. dip — to sink
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — a division
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wake — a trail
  18. row — a line
  19. capital — money
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. march — the month
  24. row — a quarrel

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