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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: race · branch · cell · saw · capital · can · rush · mouse

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. can — to be able to
  3. rush — hurry
  4. can — a tin
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. race — a contest
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. branch — a division
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cell — a phone
  15. capital — money
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. can — a tin
  24. mouse — for a computer

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