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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: stick · craft · pass · file · bat · root · capital · branch

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. root — the cause
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. branch — a division
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. file — a tool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. craft — boats
  10. pass — a permit
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a line of people
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bat — the animal
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. file — a document
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. craft — a skill
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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