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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: bat · capital · fan · mate · ground · mug · branch · march

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mug — a face
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mate — a partner
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mug — a cup
  15. ground — the earth
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mate — a friend
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mate — to breed
  24. ground — a position

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