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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 120 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: bore · kick · band · track · mine · last · fan · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bore — to tire
  4. last — to go on
  5. track — a song
  6. last — final
  7. capital — a city
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. band — a ring
  12. capital — money
  13. track — a path
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. last — finally
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. bore — to drill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mine — belonging to me

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