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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: wake · hand · board · row · rush · perch · capital · branch

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hand — help
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hand — in cards
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. board — a committee
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. capital — a city
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wake — a trail
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rush — hurry
  16. board — to get on
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. branch — a division
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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