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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. fall — the season
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — a grade
  10. fine — high quality
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. capital — money
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ground — crushed
  19. capital — a city
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — a subject
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. ground — the earth

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