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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: branch · stick · march · squash · capital · patient · band · snap

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. band — a ring
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. squash — to crush
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. squash — the sport
  10. snap — to click
  11. capital — a city
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. march — the month
  20. capital — money
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. branch — a division

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