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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: temple · ground · chair · hand · game · bank · saw · capital

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bank — for money
  3. capital — a city
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hand — help
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. ground — crushed
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ground — a position
  11. bank — for money
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. chair — a leader
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. capital — money
  18. hand — in cards
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — a match
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. ground — the earth
  24. game — a kind of play

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