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

Word bank: band · rule · field · saw · key · capital · prune · stick

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. field — a subject
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — for a lock
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rule — a law
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a music group
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. saw — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — farmland
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. key — in music
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rule — government
  23. capital — a city
  24. band — a ring

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