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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: sharp · temple · tear · field · file · capital · perch · branch

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — the fish
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. tear — to rip
  6. branch — a division
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. capital — a city
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. field — for sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a line of people
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. field — a subject
  24. sharp — clever

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