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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. band — a ring
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. row — to paddle
  12. file — a line of people
  13. row — a line
  14. file — a document
  15. tube — a container
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. file — a tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stock — shares
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. band — a music group
  24. tube — the underground

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