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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · row · jam · foot · fine · tube · branch · capital

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. branch — a division
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. capital — a city
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tube — a container
  10. row — to paddle
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — an illness
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. row — a line
  21. foot — a measure
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. fine — high quality

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