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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. bound — tied together
  3. content — the amount
  4. band — a ring
  5. current — happening now
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bound — certain
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — happy
  11. current — of water
  12. present — there
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. capital — money
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bound — obliged
  17. capital — a city
  18. band — a music group
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. tear — to rip
  21. present — a gift
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. present — the time now
  24. current — electric

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