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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 116 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: club · firm · branch · capital · rush · kid · bore · board

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. capital — money
  3. firm — a company
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kid — to tease
  6. capital — a city
  7. bore — to tire
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. branch — a division
  11. firm — steady
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. firm — decided
  16. club — for dancing
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. club — for golf
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bore — to drill
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. club — a group

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