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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. object — a thing
  3. band — a ring
  4. wake — a trail
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. content — happy
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. object — an aim
  11. content — the amount
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. prune — to trim
  15. object — to protest
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bound — tied together
  22. capital — money
  23. band — a music group
  24. ball — a dance

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