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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. capital — money
  3. band — a music group
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — a hat
  8. capital — a city
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cap — of ice
  11. lie — to recline
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — in biology
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cap — a lid
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. key — for a lock
  19. cell — a phone
  20. tear — to rip
  21. content — the amount
  22. key — the most important part
  23. content — happy
  24. key — in music

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