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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mate — a friend
  5. band — a ring
  6. club — for golf
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. row — a line
  12. bank — for money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bank — for money
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. capital — money
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. club — a group
  21. bank — of a river
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mate — to breed

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