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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. net — in sport
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mug — a face
  5. capital — a city
  6. field — farmland
  7. net — after costs
  8. game — a match
  9. mug — a cup
  10. net — for catching
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mug — to rob
  13. field — a subject
  14. drill — the tool
  15. game — wild animals
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. drill — army training
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — for sport
  21. capital — money
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — for betting
  24. capital — a big letter

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