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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. branch — a division
  3. capital — a city
  4. bound — tied together
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bore — to drill
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. pop — soda
  11. dip — to sink
  12. pop — to visit
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. capital — money
  15. row — a line
  16. bound — obliged
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pop — music
  19. band — a music group
  20. row — to paddle
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bound — certain

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