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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wind — moving air
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — a subject
  7. stand — to bear
  8. net — after costs
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. field — farmland
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. field — for sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. capital — a big letter

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