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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pound — a weight
  5. season — of the year
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. content — the amount
  8. capital — a city
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rule — government
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. net — in sport
  15. rule — a law
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. band — a music group
  20. net — for catching
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. net — after costs
  23. capital — money
  24. content — happy

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