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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — a committee
  7. band — a ring
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — music
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. march — the month
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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