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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: branch · date · bowl · wind · pitcher · mark · capital · chair

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — money
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — a division
  13. date — the fruit
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. chair — a leader

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