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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 120 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: hand · field · spell · band · staff · chest · suit · key

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. spell — a short time
  3. hand — help
  4. key — for a lock
  5. suit — to fit
  6. staff — employees
  7. field — for sport
  8. band — a ring
  9. spell — magic
  10. suit — clothes
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spell — letters
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. key — in music
  15. chest — a box
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. staff — employees
  18. field — farmland
  19. band — a music group
  20. field — a subject
  21. staff — a stick
  22. suit — in cards
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chest — of your body

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