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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 116 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: cabinet · ground · mark · rock · capital · hand · pound · branch

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mark — a grade
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. ground — a position
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. capital — a city
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. mark — a trace
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. rock — music
  18. ground — crushed
  19. capital — money
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rock — a stone
  22. branch — a division
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. ground — the earth

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