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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: spell · branch · march · capital · squash · bark · net · straw

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. march — music
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. march — the month
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. branch — a division
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. squash — the sport
  11. capital — a city
  12. march — the month
  13. squash — to crush
  14. net — for catching
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. capital — money
  17. net — after costs
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. net — in sport

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