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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. key — in music
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. field — for sport
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. staff — employees
  10. key — the most important part
  11. field — farmland
  12. cold — not warm
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. key — for a lock
  15. staff — a stick
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. field — a subject
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — employees
  22. capital — a city
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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