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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: cold · firm · mate · branch · capital · stick · fan · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — a city
  4. firm — a company
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. rest — a break
  12. branch — a division
  13. mate — a friend
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. cold — an illness
  18. firm — steady
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. firm — decided
  24. rest — what's left

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