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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 116 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: pop · capital · pitcher · branch · cabinet · cold · cell · wax

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cell — in biology
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a city
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pop — music
  16. branch — a division
  17. pop — soda
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. capital — money

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