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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 116 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 second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. field — a subject
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitch — completely
  10. field — for sport
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fall — the season
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. capital — a city
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. field — farmland

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