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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bass — the fish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a ring
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bass — low music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. current — electric
  11. band — a music group
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rest — what's left
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. capital — money
  17. rest — what's left
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rest — a break

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