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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: capital · fine · bat · lean · branch · dip · board · tear

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bat — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. board — a committee
  11. dip — to sink
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. fine — high quality
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fine — all right
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. board — to get on
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. capital — a city
  23. lean — thin
  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