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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: tube · fall · squash · roll · march · snap · capital · branch

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. capital — a city
  2. squash — the sport
  3. fall — to drop
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fall — to drop
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. roll — a list
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — the month
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fall — the season
  16. march — music
  17. roll — a cake
  18. march — the month
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. tube — the underground
  23. capital — a big letter
  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