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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: branch · kick · capital · leaves · straw · tear · saw · court

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — of a king
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. court — for sport
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — the tool
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — from crying
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. court — of law
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. kick — in football
  20. capital — a city
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. capital — money
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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