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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. bank — of a river
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. capital — money
  17. ball — a dance
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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