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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. press — newspapers
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fine — all right
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — for catching
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. capital — money
  11. net — after costs
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. race — the arms race
  15. field — for sport
  16. fine — high quality
  17. vault — a safe
  18. net — in sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. press — to push
  22. race — humankind
  23. press — a publisher
  24. race — a contest

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