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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — a city
  3. lean — to bend
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — money
  7. band — a ring
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — crushed
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stand — to bear
  16. band — a music group
  17. spring — of water
  18. ground — a position
  19. lean — thin
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. ground — the earth
  23. prune — to trim
  24. straw — dry grass

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