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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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468
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: track · capital · lean · fork · bank · squash · bat · file

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. squash — the sport
  3. capital — money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bank — for money
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fork — in a road
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bank — for money
  16. track — a path
  17. capital — a city
  18. bat — the animal
  19. file — a document
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. track — a song
  24. squash — to crush

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