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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: drill · board · capital · game · net · bank · pit · kid

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. capital — a city
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. net — for catching
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pit — in a race
  13. net — in sport
  14. board — to get on
  15. kid — child
  16. drill — army training
  17. game — wild animals
  18. net — after costs
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. capital — money
  22. game — a match
  23. bank — of a river
  24. kid — to tease

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