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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 120 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: fan · bowl · capital · fork · chest · kid · plane · bank

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kid — child
  4. bank — of a river
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. capital — money
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. capital — a city
  13. kid — to tease
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. chest — of your body
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bowl — to roll

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