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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bank — for money
  3. capital — money
  4. game — a match
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. drill — a practice
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bank — of a river
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a leader
  12. rest — a break
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bank — for money
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rest — what's left
  20. drill — army training
  21. rest — what's left
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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