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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bulb — for light
  3. spring — of water
  4. capital — money
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stand — to bear
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. field — a subject
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spring — the season
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. field — for sport
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — farmland

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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