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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. field — a subject
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — a match
  12. current — of water
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — wild animals
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. capital — a city
  20. band — a music group
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. band — a ring
  24. capital — money

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