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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: bank · hand · kid · game · nail · mate · ground · capital

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. mate — a friend
  4. ground — a position
  5. bank — of a river
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mate — to breed
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. capital — money
  11. mate — a partner
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. game — a match
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bank — for money
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bank — for money
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. capital — a city
  21. kid — to tease
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ground — the earth
  24. kid — child

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