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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. can — a tin
  3. bank — of a river
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. capital — a city
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bank — for money
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. foot — a measure
  17. cold — not warm
  18. can — to be able to
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. capital — money
  22. bank — for money
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. foot — part of the body

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