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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. capital — money
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. object — a thing
  5. band — a music group
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. object — an aim
  14. mug — a cup
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — a face
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. capital — a city
  20. object — to protest
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — to bear
  24. tear — from crying

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