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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 116 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: band · capital · rock · craft · swing · bear · clip · rash

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rash — hasty
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. swing — to play on
  7. capital — a city
  8. rock — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rash — a series
  15. band — a ring
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. clip — to cut
  18. craft — boats
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — a video
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. clip — for paper
  23. craft — a skill
  24. band — a music group

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