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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. face — to point toward
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. club — for golf
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. field — farmland
  16. face — part of the head
  17. club — for dancing
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. capital — money
  20. scale — in music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. field — a subject
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. face — to confront

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