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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. capital — a city
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. capital — money
  6. rush — hurry
  7. board — to get on
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. band — a music group
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mine — for digging
  16. board — a committee
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. band — a ring
  20. field — farmland
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. kick — in football
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rush — to hurry

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