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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. band — a ring
  3. spell — letters
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. suit — in cards
  9. suit — to fit
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — a short time
  15. band — a music group
  16. suit — clothes
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. capital — money
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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