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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 · plane · pitcher · capital · tear · wave · branch · last

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. file — a tool
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. last — finally
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. last — final
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. file — a document
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. capital — money
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. last — to go on

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