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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. field — a subject
  7. board — to get on
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — for sport
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pass — a permit
  14. capital — a city
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. fork — in a road
  19. field — farmland
  20. wound — an injury
  21. board — a committee
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fork — a garden tool

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