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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. field — a subject
  6. band — a ring
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — not warm
  11. vault — a safe
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. band — a music group
  17. track — to keep track
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — a song
  21. field — for sport
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wind — moving air

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