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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fine — all right
  7. capital — money
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bank — for money
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. field — a subject
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. chest — a box
  24. capital — a city

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