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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rule — a law
  11. capital — a city
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rule — government
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. band — a ring
  17. saw — the tool
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. branch — a division
  23. ground — crushed
  24. band — a music group

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