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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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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: fall · chair · game · bank · cell · object · mate · capital

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bank — for money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bank — of a river
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fall — to drop
  8. object — a thing
  9. chair — a leader
  10. object — an aim
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fall — the season
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — a city
  18. game — a match
  19. bank — for money
  20. cell — in biology
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mate — a friend
  23. capital — money
  24. object — to protest

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