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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: rest · capital · track · fan · band · drill · stick · chest

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. drill — the tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rest — what's left
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a ring
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. drill — army training
  14. rest — what's left
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chest — of your body
  17. track — a path
  18. rest — a break
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. track — a song
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. band — a music group
  24. fan — to cool the air

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