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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. capital — a city
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. deal — to handle
  8. file — a line of people
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. lean — thin
  12. bank — for money
  13. track — a song
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bank — for money
  17. rush — hurry
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — money
  20. lean — to bend
  21. band — a music group
  22. bank — of a river
  23. track — a path
  24. file — a tool

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