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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: bank · capital · board · degree · can · tear · band · wound

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bank — of a river
  3. tear — to rip
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — temperature
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bank — for money
  9. board — to get on
  10. capital — a city
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. can — to be able to
  14. bank — for money
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. degree — from a university
  20. can — a tin
  21. degree — an amount
  22. board — a committee
  23. capital — money
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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