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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. foot — a measure
  3. field — for sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. present — there
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. game — a match
  8. present — the time now
  9. field — a subject
  10. present — a gift
  11. perch — the fish
  12. lean — to bend
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. game — wild animals
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. field — farmland
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. lean — thin
  22. capital — money
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. racket — for tennis

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