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

Word bank: bank · wave · row · kid · capital · fall

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. row — a line
  4. bank — of a river
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fall — the season
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. capital — a city
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. capital — money
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kid — child
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for 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