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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — money
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. perch — the fish
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. bore — to drill
  15. net — after costs
  16. wax — to grow
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bore — to tire
  21. capital — a city
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. scale — in music

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