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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 116 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: tear · board · rule · shower · capital · band · stand · trunk

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. capital — money
  4. board — a committee
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rule — government
  9. shower — to wash
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. band — a music group
  12. shower — rain
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stand — to bear
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. board — to get on
  20. rule — a law
  21. capital — a city
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. stand — for spectators

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