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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · file · hand · cue · lie · spring · kid · band

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. spring — the season
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. band — a music group
  5. kid — to tease
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. hand — help
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — a coil
  11. hand — in cards
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cue — for pool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. band — a ring
  17. kid — child
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. file — a tool
  22. spring — of water
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. file — a line of people

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