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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — money
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — the earth
  5. kid — to tease
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ground — crushed
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bore — to drill
  11. ground — a position
  12. field — a subject
  13. chest — of your body
  14. capital — a city
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bore — to tire
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — child
  23. chest — of your body
  24. staff — employees

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