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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. capital — money
  4. field — a subject
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. race — a contest
  9. cell — in biology
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. clip — a video
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cell — a phone
  24. field — farmland

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