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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. track — a path
  3. capital — a city
  4. staff — employees
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bank — for money
  7. race — the arms race
  8. track — to keep track
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bank — for money
  12. band — a music group
  13. swing — in golf
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bank — of a river
  18. track — a song
  19. staff — a stick
  20. swing — music
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. staff — employees
  24. bowl — to roll

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