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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. field — farmland
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. field — a subject
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. field — for sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cue — for pool
  18. capital — money

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