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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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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: current · straw · hand · capital · band · rock · coach · march

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. current — electric
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. capital — money
  5. current — of water
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — help
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. band — a music group
  14. hand — in cards
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. current — happening now
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rock — a stone
  19. band — a ring
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. capital — a city
  22. rock — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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