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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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. track — to keep track
  4. scale — in music
  5. bear — the animal
  6. field — farmland
  7. foot — a measure
  8. capital — money
  9. cold — not warm
  10. field — a subject
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — a song
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. charge — electricity
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — size or range
  20. track — a path
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. charge — in control
  24. charge — a price

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