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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bank — for money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. capital — a city
  5. tube — the underground
  6. hand — in cards
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. tube — a container
  9. branch — a division
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hand — help
  18. chest — a box
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bank — for money
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. bank — of a river

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