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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 · straw · capital · bat · saw · stand · lean · fall

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stand — to bear
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lean — to bend
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fall — to drop
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bat — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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