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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: wind · branch · fall · arm · hand · capital · row · track

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. fall — the season
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. row — to paddle
  5. track — a song
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — to keep track
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. track — a path
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — a city
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — money
  19. row — a line
  20. hand — help
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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