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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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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: straw · drill · jam · field · key · capital · race · tear

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. capital — money
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. capital — a city
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. key — in music
  8. field — for sport
  9. tear — to rip
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — a contest
  12. drill — the tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. tear — from crying
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — from crying
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. key — the most important part
  20. race — humankind
  21. field — farmland
  22. key — for a lock
  23. field — a subject
  24. race — the arms race

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