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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. hand — help
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. charge — electricity
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. hand — in cards
  20. field — a subject
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. charge — in control
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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