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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. track — a path
  5. band — a music group
  6. capital — a city
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bank — of a river
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. hand — help
  12. track — a song
  13. wind — moving air
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. present — there
  16. present — a gift
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bank — for money
  19. band — a ring
  20. capital — money
  21. present — the time now
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bank — for money
  24. hand — in cards

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