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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — an illness
  3. capital — money
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. can — to be able to
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — not warm
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. wake — a trail
  13. band — a ring
  14. deal — to handle
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. band — a music group
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. fork — in a road
  21. can — a tin
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. capital — a city
  24. can — a tin

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