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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: sharp · perch · capital · branch · wound · mate · squash · cabinet

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. branch — a division
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — to breed
  5. capital — money
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. sharp — clever
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wound — an injury
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. capital — a city
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. branch — of a tree
  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