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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bound — tied together
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. track — a path
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. season — in sport
  9. bound — obliged
  10. land — a country
  11. season — of the year
  12. land — to come down
  13. capital — a city
  14. track — a song
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bound — certain
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. track — to keep track
  20. capital — money
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — ground

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