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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. court — of law
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. drill — the tool
  7. capital — a city
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mug — to rob
  13. court — for sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bank — for money
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bat — the animal
  20. drill — army training
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. capital — money
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. court — of a king

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