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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: arm · capital · fork · calf · perch · branch · wind · jam

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. branch — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. perch — the fish
  18. fork — in a road
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. calf — a young animal
  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