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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. hand — help
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. drill — a practice
  7. bank — for money
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bank — of a river
  11. mark — a trace
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rash — a series
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. drill — army training
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. capital — money
  22. pitch — completely
  23. capital — a city
  24. drill — 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