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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 124 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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mark — a grade
  4. spell — letters
  5. board — a committee
  6. mine — for digging
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. saw — the tool
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spell — a short time
  11. season — in sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. board — to get on
  16. season — of the year
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. field — a subject
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mark — a trace
  21. capital — money
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. field — farmland

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