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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: arm · cap · bank · spring · ball · straw · capital · wake

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. spring — the season
  5. bank — of a river
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. ball — a great time
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. spring — a coil
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cap — of ice
  24. straw — a straw man

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