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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: track · chair · chest · board · bank · bat · sharp · capital

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chest — a box
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — a committee
  6. bank — of a river
  7. track — a song
  8. capital — a city
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. board — to get on
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a path
  24. bat — for baseball

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