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

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. 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. sharp — exactly
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. field — for sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. fine — high quality
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. fall — the season
  11. capital — a city
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — all right
  15. court — of a king
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fall — to drop
  18. can — a tin
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. court — of law
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. field — farmland
  24. 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