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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — a city
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — temperature
  5. present — the time now
  6. march — music
  7. present — there
  8. bat — the animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. march — the month
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — from a university
  20. field — a subject
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. capital — money
  23. present — a gift
  24. degree — an amount

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