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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · kid · capital · leaves · pop · snap · fan · bore

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. capital — money
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. capital — a city
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. snap — to click
  11. band — a ring
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. kid — child
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pop — soda
  20. band — a music group
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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