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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · capital · spring · hide · scale · staff · firm · branch

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. staff — a stick
  12. spring — a coil
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — of water
  15. staff — employees
  16. firm — steady
  17. capital — a city
  18. scale — in music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — the season
  22. scale — size or range
  23. firm — a company
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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