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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: date · pass · capital · field · key · cap · content · rock

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. rock — music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. key — the most important part
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rock — a stone
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. capital — money
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. key — for a lock
  19. content — happy
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. field — farmland
  22. cap — of ice
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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