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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. capital — money
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. field — farmland
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. field — a subject
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. field — for sport
  15. toast — bread
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mark — a trace
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — a city
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. patient — a sick person

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