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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. field — for sport
  5. charge — in control
  6. field — a subject
  7. bound — tied together
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bound — obliged
  10. press — a publisher
  11. band — a ring
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. charge — a price
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bound — certain
  17. drill — the tool
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. charge — electricity
  20. field — farmland
  21. capital — money
  22. press — to push
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. band — a music group

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