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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cell — a phone
  3. prune — to trim
  4. field — a subject
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. club — for dancing
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — money
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. club — a group
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. club — for golf
  17. rock — a stone
  18. capital — a city
  19. field — for sport
  20. rock — music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — farmland
  23. board — a committee
  24. cell — in biology

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