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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: band · wave · mate · row · rush · prune · capital · mug

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mug — a cup
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. mate — a partner
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. band — a ring
  11. rush — hurry
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mug — to rob
  14. row — a line
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mug — a face
  17. mate — to breed
  18. row — to paddle
  19. band — a music group
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. mate — a friend

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