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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. capital — money
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. field — a subject
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. field — for sport
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rest — a break
  14. field — farmland
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — wild animals
  17. pit — in a race
  18. fine — all right
  19. game — a match
  20. fine — high quality
  21. capital — a city
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. capital — a big letter

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