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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. capital — a city
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — for golf
  13. ball — a dance
  14. field — for sport
  15. ball — a great time
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. capital — money
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. field — farmland

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