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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.

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: cold · spell · band · rock · mate · capital · hide · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. capital — a city
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. rock — a stone
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. branch — a division
  15. band — a ring
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rock — music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. band — a music group
  23. capital — money
  24. branch — of a bank

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