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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: rash · branch · capital · fine · ball · wound · wind · land

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wound — an injury
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. land — ground
  8. branch — a division
  9. wound — an injury
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. capital — a city
  13. ball — a dance
  14. capital — money
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. ball — a great time
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. rash — a series
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. fine — all right
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fine — high quality

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