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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: mine · band · mug · capital · bear · club · last · cap

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. club — for golf
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cap — a lid
  9. club — a group
  10. mine — for digging
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. band — a music group
  14. cap — a hat
  15. club — for dancing
  16. mug — a face
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. band — a ring
  19. mug — a cup
  20. bear — the animal
  21. capital — a city
  22. mug — to rob
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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