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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · cabinet · branch · roll · capital · lie · chair · content

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a city
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. lie — to recline
  10. roll — a cake
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — the amount
  14. file — a line of people
  15. roll — a list
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. file — a document
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. file — a tool
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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