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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bound — tied together
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — money
  14. band — a ring
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bound — certain
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. wound — an injury
  21. squash — the sport
  22. band — a music group
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bowl — to roll

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