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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: fork · band · arm · capital · game · wound · rule · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. rule — a law
  3. object — to protest
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rule — government
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — a match
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. band — a music group
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a city
  21. band — a ring
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. object — an aim

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