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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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Word bank
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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: hide · fall · capital · rule · pop · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — money
  3. fall — the season
  4. band — a music group
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rule — a law
  9. pop — to visit
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pop — soda
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pop — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rule — government
  17. fall — to drop
  18. band — a ring

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