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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: bat · fan · capital · bank · tear · wave · band · bear

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — a city
  3. bear — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a music group
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. tear — to rip
  17. band — a ring
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bank — for money
  24. band — a rubber band

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