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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. field — farmland
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — for sport
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. last — finally
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chair — a leader
  10. capital — a city
  11. last — final
  12. can — a tin
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bulb — for light
  17. field — a subject
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  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