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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — hurry
  3. capital — a city
  4. mark — a grade
  5. band — a ring
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mark — a trace
  13. band — a music group
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. season — in sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — of the year

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