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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: capital · pitcher · cold · fork · craft · bound · band · rock

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — an illness
  11. craft — boats
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. craft — a skill
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bound — tied together
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — money
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — obliged

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