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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: row · cap · tube · hand · mate · capital · spring · bank

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mate — to breed
  3. hand — help
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bank — for money
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spring — a coil
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — the season
  10. mate — a friend
  11. row — to paddle
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. row — a line
  14. spring — of water
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. tube — a container
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bank — for money
  20. mate — a partner
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bank — of a river

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