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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. field — farmland
  3. row — to paddle
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. field — for sport
  7. bulb — for light
  8. row — a line
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ground — crushed
  17. capital — a city
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. mine — for digging
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. field — a subject
  23. vault — a safe
  24. mine — an explosive

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