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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: cell · capital · mine · pitcher · ruler · wave · land · branch

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. land — ground
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. capital — money
  11. land — a country
  12. capital — a city
  13. land — to come down
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. branch — a division
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mine — belonging to me

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