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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. object — to protest
  6. season — of the year
  7. pop — soda
  8. season — in sport
  9. stem — to come from
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. object — an aim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pop — to visit
  15. object — a thing
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. band — a ring
  18. pop — music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. band — a music group
  24. mate — a friend

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