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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: capital · chip · plane · branch · ground · stem · bowl · bat

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ground — a position
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ground — the earth
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. stem — to come from
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. capital — money
  14. chip — for betting
  15. capital — a city
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bat — the animal

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