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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — money
  7. field — a subject
  8. cell — a phone
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. field — for sport
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. capital — a city
  14. club — for golf
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mate — to breed
  18. fall — the season
  19. mate — a partner
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mate — a friend
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rock — a stone
  24. club — a group

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