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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: capital · mate · season · court · rest · band · current · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. current — of water
  5. band — a ring
  6. season — of the year
  7. court — for sport
  8. mate — to breed
  9. court — of a king
  10. field — farmland
  11. current — electric
  12. band — a music group
  13. season — in sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. court — of law
  16. current — happening now
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — a break
  24. capital — a big letter

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