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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chip — for betting
  3. capital — money
  4. band — a music group
  5. capital — a city
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bound — tied together
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. cold — not warm
  14. roll — a list
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. deal — to handle
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bound — certain

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