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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: mine · root · bank · capital · vault · field · tear · march

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. march — the month
  3. vault — a safe
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. bank — for money
  7. field — a subject
  8. capital — money
  9. march — music
  10. field — farmland
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. field — for sport
  13. root — of a word
  14. bank — for money
  15. capital — a city
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. march — the month

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