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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 116 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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — for sport
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — money
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. march — music
  8. capital — a city
  9. fall — to drop
  10. field — a subject
  11. can — to be able to
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — to crush
  15. can — a tin
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. fall — the season
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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