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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. field — a subject
  3. band — a music group
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. capital — a city
  6. key — in music
  7. capital — money
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — the most important part
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pass — a permit
  12. field — farmland
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. field — for sport

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