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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: kid · capital · rest · roll · file · bank · plane · wake

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. rest — what's left
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bank — of a river
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. file — a document
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. file — a tool
  13. bank — for money
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rest — what's left
  16. kid — to tease
  17. rest — a break
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. file — a line of people
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. capital — a city
  24. bank — for 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