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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. object — an aim
  3. game — a match
  4. bank — for money
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. object — a thing
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. capital — a city
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. degree — from a university
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bank — of a river
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chair — a leader
  16. degree — an amount
  17. object — to protest
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. degree — temperature
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. capital — money

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