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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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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. fall — the season
  3. content — the amount
  4. bank — of a river
  5. capital — money
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cap — of ice
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. cap — a lid
  12. clip — a video
  13. bank — for money
  14. vault — a safe
  15. fall — to drop
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a city
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. cap — a hat
  24. clip — to cut

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