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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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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: hide · row · cell · saw · capital · bank · game · wax

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bank — of a river
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bank — for money
  8. game — a match
  9. row — to paddle
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a city
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wax — to grow
  17. saw — the tool
  18. row — a line
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bank — for money
  22. cell — a phone
  23. game — wild animals
  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