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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. capital — money
  4. can — a tin
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. can — a tin
  7. chair — a leader
  8. band — a ring
  9. rule — government
  10. field — a subject
  11. can — to be able to
  12. capital — a city
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rule — a law
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. field — farmland
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cue — a signal
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. field — for sport
  24. rule — to rule out

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