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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. object — to protest
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. capital — a city
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — a subject
  10. chest — a box
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. capital — money
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — farmland
  16. ball — a dance
  17. object — a thing
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. object — an aim
  22. game — wild animals
  23. field — for sport
  24. chest — of your body

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