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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. field — a subject
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. swing — to play on
  7. stem — to come from
  8. swing — in golf
  9. capital — a city
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. roll — a cake
  15. tube — the underground
  16. field — farmland
  17. capital — money
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tube — a container
  20. swing — music
  21. field — for sport
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. tube — in a tire

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