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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. band — a music group
  4. spell — letters
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. land — a country
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. capital — money
  14. bulb — for light
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. land — ground
  17. kid — to tease
  18. band — a ring
  19. mate — a partner
  20. spell — magic
  21. kid — child
  22. capital — a city
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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