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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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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. capital — a city
  3. bank — for money
  4. object — to protest
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. game — a match
  7. bank — for money
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bat — the animal
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. object — a thing
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stock — goods
  15. game — wild animals
  16. capital — money
  17. shower — rain
  18. object — an aim
  19. bank — of a river
  20. stock — shares
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. shower — to wash
  24. coach — a trainer

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