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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bound — certain
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. field — farmland
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bound — tied together
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — a subject
  23. shower — rain
  24. patient — a sick person

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