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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. kick — in football
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. field — a subject
  7. present — the time now
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. present — a gift
  10. capital — a city
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. present — there
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pitch — completely
  18. plane — a tool
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. capital — money
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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