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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: ground · perch · club · leaves · rush · mark · branch · capital

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — crushed
  4. club — for dancing
  5. capital — money
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mark — a grade
  8. rush — hurry
  9. club — for golf
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. ground — the earth
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. ground — a position
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. capital — a city
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. club — a group
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. mark — a trace
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. leaves — to go away

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