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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. capital — a city
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. band — a music group
  6. bass — low music
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rule — a law
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bass — the fish
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. capital — money
  17. rash — hasty
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rule — government
  20. rash — a series
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ball — a dance
  24. band — a ring

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