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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. branch — a division
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. band — a ring
  10. sharp — clever
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lean — thin
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. dip — to sink
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. capital — money
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. lean — to bend
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bat — for baseball

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