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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bank · kid · cap · row · staff · capital

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. kid — to tease
  3. capital — a city
  4. row — to paddle
  5. staff — employees
  6. bank — of a river
  7. row — a line
  8. cap — of ice
  9. staff — employees
  10. cap — a hat
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bank — for money
  16. kid — child
  17. capital — money
  18. staff — a stick

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