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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. field — for sport
  5. track — to keep track
  6. field — farmland
  7. capital — money
  8. track — a song
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. net — in sport
  11. roll — a list
  12. track — a path
  13. object — to protest
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. net — after costs
  18. roll — a cake
  19. net — for catching
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. object — an aim
  22. squash — to crush
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. squash — the sport

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