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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rest — a break
  3. pound — a weight
  4. band — a ring
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a music group
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. file — a tool
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. capital — a city
  13. file — a document
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pit — in a race
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. capital — money
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitcher — a jug

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