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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. suit — clothes
  3. mug — a cup
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mug — to rob
  8. field — for sport
  9. game — wild animals
  10. capital — money
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. mug — a face
  14. tube — a container
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. suit — to fit
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — a match
  20. field — farmland
  21. court — of a king
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. suit — in cards
  24. field — a subject

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