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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 120 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: stick · mate · band · last · cold · capital · object · wave

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. object — a thing
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cold — not warm
  10. object — to protest
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. last — to go on
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. band — a music group
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — an illness
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — final
  22. object — an aim
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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