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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. field — for sport
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — a phone
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — in biology
  16. fine — high quality
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. plane — a tool
  19. capital — money
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. fine — all right
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. court — of a king
  24. bat — in an idiom

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