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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: band · field · saw · capital · pound · fine · race · roll

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — money
  4. field — farmland
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. race — humankind
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. roll — a cake
  16. band — a ring
  17. pound — a weight
  18. fine — high quality
  19. roll — a list
  20. band — a music group
  21. fine — all right
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. field — a subject

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