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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: hand · bound · rest · board · capital · band · chair · racket

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rest — what's left
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. board — to get on
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — a city
  10. board — a committee
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. capital — money
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. bound — tied together
  21. band — a ring
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. racket — a loud noise

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