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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  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. mouse — for a computer
  2. game — a match
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. band — a music group
  5. track — a path
  6. band — a ring
  7. capital — money
  8. land — ground
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. track — a song
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. track — to keep track
  13. land — a country
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. land — to come down
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. deal — to handle
  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