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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a ring
  4. degree — temperature
  5. capital — a city
  6. ball — a great time
  7. saw — the tool
  8. capital — money
  9. swing — music
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. band — a music group
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. degree — from a university
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. swing — to play on
  17. ball — a dance
  18. degree — an amount
  19. branch — a division
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. swing — in golf
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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