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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: band · capital · pitcher · chip · field · track · sharp · rash

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. track — a path
  4. capital — money
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. field — for sport
  7. rash — hasty
  8. band — a music group
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chip — for betting
  11. track — to keep track
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chip — to eat
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. capital — a city
  18. sharp — clever
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. rash — a series
  22. track — a song
  23. field — a subject
  24. rash — on the skin

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