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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bound — tied together
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cap — a hat
  5. object — to protest
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. object — a thing
  9. band — a music group
  10. cap — of ice
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. capital — a city
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ball — a great time
  18. object — an aim
  19. cap — a lid
  20. capital — money
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. snap — to click
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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