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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: present · ball · bowl · capital · branch · mouse · stand · kid

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — a city
  4. present — the time now
  5. capital — money
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ball — a great time
  9. branch — a division
  10. kid — child
  11. present — a gift
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stand — to bear
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. present — there
  24. mouse — the animal

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