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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. capital — a city
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mark — a grade
  12. current — happening now
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. field — a subject
  19. mark — a trace
  20. capital — money
  21. current — electric
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — in music
  24. current — of water

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