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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pit — in a race
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. kid — child
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. pit — a hole
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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