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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. march — the month
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. file — a line of people
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a tool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. capital — a city
  13. march — music
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. file — a document
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cue — for pool
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. bore — to tire
  24. march — the month

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