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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: bear · band · suit · wake · field · rock · capital · land

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  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. bear — the animal
  2. suit — in cards
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. band — a music group
  5. field — a subject
  6. suit — clothes
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — farmland
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. capital — a city
  19. land — a country
  20. wake — a trail
  21. capital — money
  22. rock — a stone
  23. suit — to fit
  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