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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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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: bore · branch · chest · scale · bear · fall · capital · lash

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. bear — the animal
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. scale — in music
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. capital — a city
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. fall — to drop
  16. branch — a division
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fall — the season
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bore — to drill
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chest — a box
  24. bore — to tire

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