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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. band — a ring
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. band — a music group
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. kick — in football
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. bark — to shout
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. saw — the tool

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