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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: coach · capital · drill · can · bank · wind · last · spell

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. spell — a short time
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bank — for money
  6. drill — the tool
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bank — for money
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. capital — money
  12. drill — army training
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — moving air
  18. can — a tin
  19. last — to go on
  20. can — to be able to
  21. spell — letters
  22. bank — of a river
  23. can — a tin
  24. last — final

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