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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: capital · ground · tear · tube · content · lean · last · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. lean — thin
  3. tear — from crying
  4. capital — money
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — a division
  8. capital — a city
  9. last — finally
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. last — to go on
  13. ground — crushed
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. tube — a container
  17. ground — the earth
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tube — the underground
  20. last — final
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. ground — a position
  23. tear — from crying
  24. capital — a big letter

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