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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: capital · bore · band · bowl · present · can · chest · rest

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. capital — a city
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. chest — of your body
  5. present — a gift
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bore — to drill
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bore — to tire
  11. present — the time now
  12. band — a music group
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. present — there
  17. band — a ring
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. chest — a box
  21. capital — money
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. capital — a big letter

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