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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: fall · band · mine · key · hand · ruler · capital · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. key — the most important part
  3. fine — high quality
  4. capital — money
  5. hand — help
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. key — for a lock
  9. fall — the season
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. key — in music
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. capital — a city
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. hand — in cards

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