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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. object — an aim
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. ground — a position
  5. object — a thing
  6. band — a ring
  7. land — a country
  8. capital — a city
  9. cap — a lid
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ground — the earth
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. capital — money
  14. field — for sport
  15. band — a music group
  16. field — a subject
  17. object — to protest
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. ground — crushed
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cap — a hat
  22. field — farmland
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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