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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. charge — in control
  3. bound — tied together
  4. band — a ring
  5. stand — to bear
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bound — obliged
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. charge — electricity
  11. spell — letters
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bound — certain
  14. drill — the tool
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. drill — a practice
  17. band — a music group
  18. drill — army training
  19. capital — a city
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. charge — a price
  24. spell — magic

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