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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. capital — money
  3. track — a song
  4. bank — for money
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bank — of a river
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bank — for money
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path

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