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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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Word bank
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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: tube · leaves · row · bank · chair · capital · sharp · land

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. tube — the underground
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. capital — a city
  7. land — ground
  8. sharp — clever
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bank — of a river
  11. chair — a leader
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bank — for money
  14. tube — a container
  15. bank — for money
  16. row — a line
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. land — a country
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. row — to paddle
  21. land — to come down
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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