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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bat — the animal
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. scale — in music
  8. capital — a city
  9. bank — for money
  10. chair — a leader
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — a law
  15. bank — of a river
  16. perch — the fish
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. saw — the tool

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