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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. hand — in cards
  4. current — of water
  5. bound — tied together
  6. capital — a city
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. hand — help
  10. bass — the fish
  11. current — happening now
  12. capital — money
  13. file — a tool
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bass — low music
  17. band — a music group
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. current — electric
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bound — certain
  24. band — a ring

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