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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. field — a subject
  4. staff — a stick
  5. rest — what's left
  6. club — for golf
  7. capital — money
  8. field — farmland
  9. rest — a break
  10. club — a group
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. band — a music group
  13. staff — employees
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a ring
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. field — for sport
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rest — what's left
  23. club — for dancing
  24. staff — employees

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