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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: mug · hide · saw · date · branch · ground · capital · mate

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mug — a face
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. ground — a position
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. ground — the earth
  11. branch — a division
  12. date — the fruit
  13. saw — the tool
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mate — a friend
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. ground — crushed
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. mate — to breed
  22. capital — money
  23. mug — to rob
  24. date — on the calendar

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