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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cap — a lid
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cap — a hat
  7. capital — a city
  8. present — a gift
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — of ice
  18. present — the time now
  19. snap — to click
  20. capital — money
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. present — there
  24. capital — a big letter

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