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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. fall — the season
  3. cap — of ice
  4. current — happening now
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. present — a gift
  8. capital — a city
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. current — electric
  11. fork — in a road
  12. current — of water
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. field — for sport
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — money
  20. present — the time now
  21. field — a subject
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. present — there

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