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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. kid — child
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. face — to point toward
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. capital — money
  9. bass — the fish
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — farmland
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. kid — to tease
  21. field — a subject
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the instrument

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