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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. spell — letters
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. branch — a division
  7. file — a line of people
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. file — a tool
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wake — a trail
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spell — magic
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. file — a document
  23. band — a music group
  24. spell — a short time

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