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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. charge — electricity
  11. last — final
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. file — a line of people
  14. capital — a city
  15. file — a document
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. charge — a price
  20. band — a ring
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. charge — in control
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. capital — money

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