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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. capital — a city
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — to come down
  11. court — for sport
  12. row — a line
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. capital — money
  16. band — a ring
  17. land — ground
  18. court — of a king
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fall — to drop
  21. court — of law
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. land — a country
  24. fall — the season

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