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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. band — a music group
  2. rash — hasty
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bass — the fish
  5. current — of water
  6. content — the amount
  7. capital — money
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. capital — a city
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. content — happy
  16. bass — low music
  17. rash — a series
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. branch — a division
  22. squash — to crush
  23. content — videos and posts
  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