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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. band — a music group
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. capital — a city
  7. mine — for digging
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. branch — a division
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. capital — money
  14. craft — a skill
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cap — a lid
  18. craft — boats
  19. band — a ring
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. branch — of a bank

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