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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. band — a music group
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. chip — to eat
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. chip — for betting
  9. capital — a city
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. band — a ring
  12. staff — employees
  13. file — a tool
  14. staff — employees
  15. file — a document
  16. capital — money
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spring — of water
  21. branch — a division
  22. staff — a stick
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. temple — a place of worship

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