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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: hand · march · wind · branch · row · capital · object · stand

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — the month
  7. branch — a division
  8. stand — to bear
  9. hand — help
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. object — an aim
  12. row — a line
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. object — to protest
  15. hand — in cards
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wind — moving air
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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