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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. plane — a tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. sharp — clever
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bound — obliged
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mug — to rob
  12. capital — a city
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. field — a subject
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. season — in sport
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. mug — a face
  23. capital — money
  24. mug — a cup

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