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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. march — music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. key — the most important part
  6. key — in music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. capital — a city
  9. field — a subject
  10. capital — money
  11. bass — low music
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. key — for a lock
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chip — to eat
  17. field — farmland
  18. march — the month
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bass — the fish

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