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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rest — a break
  7. wake — a trail
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a music group
  10. file — a document
  11. shower — rain
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. file — a tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — a city
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bowl — a football final

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