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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: branch · bat · tube · spring · wake · capital · roll · cabinet

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tube — the underground
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — a city
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. roll — a list
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spring — of water
  17. roll — a cake
  18. branch — a division
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. tube — a container
  23. capital — money
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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