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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — a match
  6. hand — help
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. band — a music group
  10. mine — for digging
  11. capital — money
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — music
  14. can — a tin
  15. toast — bread
  16. band — a ring
  17. can — a tin
  18. rock — a stone
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hand — in cards

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