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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: safe · straw · capital · bass · root · bat · branch · rule

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. capital — money
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — the cause
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. capital — a big letter

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