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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. band — a music group
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. capital — a city
  10. cap — a hat
  11. band — a ring
  12. cap — of ice
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cap — a lid
  18. snap — to click

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