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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: lie · branch · date · capital · wind · dip · spring · game

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lie — to recline
  9. date — the fruit
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. spring — of water
  14. capital — a city
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. branch — a division
  17. spring — a coil
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spring — the season
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. capital — money
  24. dip — a sauce

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