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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 124 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. staff — a stick
  3. fall — the season
  4. shower — rain
  5. rule — government
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. land — a country
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — ground
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rule — a law
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. capital — money
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bear — the animal

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