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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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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. key — the most important part
  8. firm — decided
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — for sport
  12. capital — money
  13. band — a music group
  14. key — in music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. firm — steady
  19. field — a subject
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. degree — from a university
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. degree — an amount
  24. field — farmland

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