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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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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 · chest · bank · stock · hand · bound · squash · arm

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bank — for money
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bank — for money
  9. capital — a city
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. hand — help
  12. capital — money
  13. bound — obliged
  14. stock — goods
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bound — certain
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. stock — shares
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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