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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rule — government
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. file — a tool
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. capital — a city
  9. present — the time now
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. present — there
  14. band — a ring
  15. bank — of a river
  16. rule — a law
  17. bank — for money
  18. file — a document
  19. bank — for money
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. band — a music group
  23. file — a line of people
  24. capital — money

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