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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 · branch · tear · toast · chip · bat · spring · last

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. capital — a city
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. capital — money
  6. last — to go on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. toast — bread
  11. spring — of water
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. last — finally
  17. chip — to eat
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. tear — from crying
  20. branch — a division
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. last — final
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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