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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. cap — a lid
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cell — in biology
  6. capital — a city
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cap — a hat
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — money
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wake — a trail
  22. band — a music group
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. band — a ring

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