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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. field — a subject
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. field — for sport
  7. club — for golf
  8. capital — a city
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. field — farmland
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. capital — money
  16. rest — a break
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. club — a 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