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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: last · dip · wake · straw · face · branch · squash · capital

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to point toward
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. last — final
  5. squash — to crush
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wake — a trail
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. squash — the sport
  16. capital — money
  17. dip — to sink
  18. face — to confront
  19. branch — a division
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. capital — a city
  24. branch — of a tree

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