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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. band — a music group
  3. capital — a city
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. squash — the sport
  6. track — to keep track
  7. field — farmland
  8. capital — money
  9. can — to be able to
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. track — a path
  12. squash — to crush
  13. field — a subject
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. can — a tin
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. field — for sport

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