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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tube — a container
  4. field — farmland
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. firm — a company
  7. tube — the underground
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — the arms race
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. perch — the fish
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — humankind
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. firm — steady
  19. field — for sport
  20. firm — decided
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — a contest
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. fan — a supporter

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