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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. rule — a law
  4. face — part of the head
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chip — to eat
  7. kid — to tease
  8. key — for a lock
  9. kid — child
  10. vault — a safe
  11. capital — a city
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. capital — money
  15. face — to confront
  16. band — a ring
  17. key — the most important part
  18. face — to point toward
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. key — in music
  21. chip — for betting
  22. rule — government
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. chip — in a computer

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