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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.

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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: spring · capital · branch · mug · rest · drill · dip · bat

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. dip — to sink
  3. capital — a city
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. mug — a cup
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rest — a break
  9. capital — money
  10. mug — a face
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. drill — army training
  15. branch — a division
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — of water
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spring — the season

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