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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. field — a subject
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tube — a container
  5. wind — moving air
  6. capital — money
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. field — farmland
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — a position
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. hand — help
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. tube — the underground
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. capital — a city
  24. field — for sport

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