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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — a city
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. tube — a container
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. band — a ring
  11. fine — high quality
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. field — farmland
  17. tube — the underground
  18. capital — money
  19. band — a music group
  20. fine — all right
  21. game — a match
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bowl — a football final

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