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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 120 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: capital · stand · leaves · foot · bowl · cold · branch · fine

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stand — to bear
  3. fine — all right
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cold — not warm
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — money
  11. fine — high quality
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. branch — a division
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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