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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: kid · staff · track · bank · hand · court · capital · fall

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. track — a song
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. staff — employees
  5. court — for sport
  6. fall — to drop
  7. staff — a stick
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — for money
  14. court — of law
  15. track — a path
  16. court — of a king
  17. bank — of a river
  18. capital — money
  19. kid — child
  20. track — to keep track
  21. kid — to tease
  22. hand — in cards
  23. fall — the season
  24. hand — help

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