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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: band · capital · straw · bank · object · mate · stick · perch

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. band — a ring
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. band — a music group
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. object — an aim
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mate — a partner
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bank — for money
  19. object — a thing
  20. bank — for money
  21. object — to protest
  22. bank — of a river
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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