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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: game · mate · pound · bay · land · object · capital · band

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. band — a ring
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. capital — a city
  6. mate — to breed
  7. object — an aim
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. game — a match
  11. capital — money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mate — a partner
  14. game — wild animals
  15. land — ground
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. land — a country
  22. band — a music group
  23. pound — a weight
  24. mate — a friend

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