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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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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: bank · capital · branch · shower · face · mouse · swing · cell

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bank — for money
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — a city
  5. face — to confront
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. shower — to wash
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bank — of a river
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. face — to point toward
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bank — for money
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — part of the head
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. capital — money

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