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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 120 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rule — a law
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. can — to be able to
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bear — the animal
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. can — a tin
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. band — a ring
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rule — government
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — money
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. can — a tin
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. band — a music group

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