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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bore — to tire
  6. band — a ring
  7. capital — money
  8. pop — music
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bass — the fish
  12. hand — in cards
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rush — hurry
  18. hand — help
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. pop — soda
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. capital — a city
  24. bore — to drill

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