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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a match
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. field — farmland
  7. drill — army training
  8. band — a ring
  9. drill — a practice
  10. toast — bread
  11. capital — a city
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. drill — the tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. capital — money
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. field — for sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. field — a subject
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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