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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 · wake · march · hand · capital · fork · bank · tear

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. hand — help
  4. bank — of a river
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wake — a trail
  7. tear — to rip
  8. march — the month
  9. tear — from crying
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. march — the month
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. branch — a division
  15. capital — a city
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bank — for money
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bank — for money
  21. march — music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — money
  24. branch — of a bank

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