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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mark — a grade
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. swing — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mark — a trace
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — money
  14. field — farmland
  15. rest — a break
  16. swing — in golf
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. band — a music group
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. trunk — of a tree

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