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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: cold · band · bound · tube · ground · capital · mouse · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. capital — money
  6. bound — obliged
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. cold — not warm
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — a container
  11. capital — a city
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bound — certain
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. tube — the underground
  20. band — a music group
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. bound — tied together

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