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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 124 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — money
  4. file — a line of people
  5. shower — to wash
  6. band — a music group
  7. shower — rain
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. last — finally
  11. bass — the fish
  12. last — final
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bass — low music
  18. file — a document
  19. deal — to handle
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. file — a tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. toast — bread

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