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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. swing — in golf
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cue — a hint
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. degree — temperature
  8. swing — music
  9. fine — all right
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — a contest
  12. band — a music group
  13. race — humankind
  14. fine — high quality
  15. degree — an amount
  16. band — a ring
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cue — a signal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cue — for pool
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. degree — from a university
  23. swing — to play on
  24. tear — from crying

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