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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: capital · fan · bore · bound · net · bank · game · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. bore — to tire
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. net — in sport
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bank — for money
  10. net — after costs
  11. bore — to drill
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. net — for catching
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bank — for money
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. game — a match
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bound — obliged
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bound — certain
  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