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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: bass · field · bank · cap · root · chip · hand · kick

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. bank — for money
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. chip — to eat
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kick — in football
  9. bass — low music
  10. bank — of a river
  11. field — a subject
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. root — of a word
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. field — farmland
  18. root — the cause
  19. field — for sport
  20. cap — a lid
  21. root — of a plant
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  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