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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: club · rule · stick · jam · band · capital · face · pitch

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. band — a music group
  4. capital — money
  5. face — part of the head
  6. capital — a city
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rule — government
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. club — a group
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitch — completely
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. capital — a big letter

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