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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: game · capital · bank · hand · branch · straw · wound · rule

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. branch — a division
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bank — of a river
  9. game — a match
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. capital — a city
  13. hand — help
  14. bank — for money
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — money
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rule — a law
  24. bank — for money

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