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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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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 · wind · tear · march · tube · band · rule · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. band — a music group
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. band — a ring
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. capital — a city
  9. rule — a law
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. tube — a container
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — the month
  24. rule — government

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