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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. toast — bread
  3. band — a ring
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. object — to protest
  6. wind — moving air
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. press — a publisher
  9. object — an aim
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. row — a line
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. wind — moving air
  18. object — a thing
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wind — to turn a key

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