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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: leaves · spring · capital · mouse · prune · stock · rush · branch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. spring — a coil
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. capital — money
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stock — goods
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — of water
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rush — hurry
  15. branch — a division
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. stock — shares
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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