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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. capital — money
  3. key — in music
  4. degree — from a university
  5. sharp — clever
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. band — a ring
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. staff — employees
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. capital — a big letter

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