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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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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: cell · bank · band · bay · lean · court · tear · capital

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. capital — money
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bank — for money
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. capital — a city
  13. court — of law
  14. lean — thin
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cell — in biology
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bank — for money
  19. band — a ring
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. band — a music group
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. lean — to bend

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