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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. capital — a city
  4. field — for sport
  5. charge — in control
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. scale — in music
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. saw — the tool
  10. field — farmland
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. charge — a price
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. capital — money
  19. charge — electricity
  20. dip — to sink
  21. last — to go on
  22. scale — size or range
  23. field — a subject
  24. chair — to sit on

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