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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 120 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: chest · branch · trunk · spring · pitch · bear · firm · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — the animal
  3. firm — steady
  4. capital — money
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spring — the season
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. firm — decided
  11. spring — of water
  12. pitch — completely
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. branch — a division
  18. firm — a company
  19. spring — a coil
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bear — to put up with

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