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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. race — a contest
  4. game — a match
  5. content — happy
  6. current — happening now
  7. field — for sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. content — the amount
  12. rule — a law
  13. lean — to bend
  14. current — electric
  15. capital — money
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — a subject
  20. current — of water
  21. game — wild animals
  22. race — humankind
  23. capital — a city
  24. lean — thin

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