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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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lean — thin
  5. object — an aim
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. band — a ring
  8. face — to confront
  9. capital — a city
  10. kick — in football
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. face — part of the head
  14. lean — to bend
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. band — a music group
  17. object — to protest
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bass — low music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bass — the fish
  24. object — a thing

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