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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. charge — in control
  4. field — farmland
  5. saw — the tool
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. tear — from crying
  9. capital — a city
  10. charge — electricity
  11. saw — the tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stock — shares
  14. tear — from crying
  15. charge — a price
  16. field — a subject
  17. capital — money
  18. stock — goods
  19. tear — to rip
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. field — for sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. leaves — of a tree

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