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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 120 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: ground · squash · bark · snap · branch · capital · pop · leaves

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. branch — a division
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pop — to visit
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pop — soda
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. capital — a city
  13. ground — crushed
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — money
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. snap — to click
  21. bark — to shout
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ground — a position

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