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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · row · racket · capital · band · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wind — moving air
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. row — to paddle
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — a line
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. row — a quarrel

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