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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. face — to point toward
  3. fine — high quality
  4. capital — a city
  5. land — to come down
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. face — part of the head
  12. fine — all right
  13. season — of the year
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — a country
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. land — ground
  18. field — for sport
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chip — to eat
  21. face — to confront
  22. branch — a division
  23. capital — money
  24. branch — of a bank

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