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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. suit — in cards
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chest — a box
  5. field — a subject
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. field — farmland
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chest — of your body
  10. suit — to fit
  11. capital — a city
  12. present — the time now
  13. field — for sport
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. sharp — clever
  22. suit — clothes
  23. capital — money
  24. wind — moving air

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