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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. capital — a city
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cold — an illness
  8. board — a committee
  9. fall — to drop
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. board — to get on
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. cold — not warm
  16. band — a ring
  17. deal — to handle
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. roll — a cake
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. band — a music group
  22. roll — a list
  23. fall — the season
  24. capital — money

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