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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. rock — a stone
  3. band — a ring
  4. capital — money
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — for a lock
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. key — in music
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a music group
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. present — there
  16. game — wild animals
  17. field — for sport
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. field — a subject
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. field — farmland
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. game — a match

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