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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. craft — boats
  6. band — a ring
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — money
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — a skill
  13. date — the fruit
  14. band — a music group
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. file — a line of people
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. file — a tool
  19. rush — hurry
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. capital — a city
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. file — a document

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