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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. band — a ring
  4. pop — to visit
  5. capital — money
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pop — soda
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bear — the animal
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. band — a music group
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. capital — a city
  17. row — a line
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pop — music
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. degree — an amount
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bear — the animal

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