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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mark — a trace
  8. deal — to handle
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. face — to confront
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. face — part of the head
  18. capital — money
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. deal — an agreement

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