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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: capital · bass · mine · dip · shower · track · lean · bank

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bank — for money
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. bank — for money
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bank — of a river
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bass — the fish
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bass — low music
  16. lean — thin
  17. shower — rain
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. dip — to sink
  22. track — a path
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. capital — a big letter

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