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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — money
  4. rash — a series
  5. capital — a city
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mug — a face
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. land — a country
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. clip — for paper
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rash — hasty
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bark — to shout
  18. land — to come down
  19. mug — to rob
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. mug — a cup
  24. land — ground

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