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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. field — a subject
  3. rock — a stone
  4. field — farmland
  5. mate — a partner
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. capital — a city
  8. court — of a king
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mate — a friend
  14. court — of law
  15. mate — to breed
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. capital — money
  21. field — for sport
  22. court — for sport
  23. lean — thin
  24. rock — to move gently

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