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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. capital — a city
  3. march — music
  4. band — a ring
  5. capital — money
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cue — for pool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. race — humankind
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mug — a cup
  13. spell — letters
  14. march — the month
  15. cue — a signal
  16. march — the month
  17. mug — to rob
  18. race — a contest
  19. mug — a face
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. band — a music group
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. ball — a dance

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