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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: bat · rock · row · capital · land · bulb · cue · branch

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. land — to come down
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cue — a hint
  5. branch — a division
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. land — a country
  12. bulb — for light
  13. row — a line
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. capital — a city
  18. rock — music
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. capital — money
  23. land — ground
  24. row — a quarrel

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