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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. net — after costs
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. field — for sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. field — farmland
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. capital — money
  11. net — in sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitch — completely
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. capital — a city
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. field — a subject
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — a stone

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