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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bound — tied together
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bound — certain
  8. capital — a city
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. capital — money
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. face — to point toward
  13. foot — a measure
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bound — obliged
  16. face — part of the head
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. band — a music group
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. face — to confront
  23. band — a ring
  24. foot — part of the body

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