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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 · file · toast · wound · mine · pop · branch · capital

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. wound — an injury
  3. toast — bread
  4. capital — money
  5. pop — soda
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mine — for digging
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — a phone
  12. file — a document
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. branch — a division
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. file — a tool
  24. cell — in biology

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