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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. key — the most important part
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wind — moving air
  7. key — in music
  8. present — a gift
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. capital — a city
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. band — a ring
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. present — the time now
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. present — there
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — money
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. key — for a lock

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