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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: band · mine · capital · stick · wound · bowl · rest · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mine — for digging
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. rest — what's left
  23. band — a ring
  24. rest — a break

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