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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. field — farmland
  3. capital — money
  4. fall — to drop
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. perch — the fish
  9. scale — in music
  10. spell — a short time
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. field — a subject
  14. bore — to tire
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. fall — to drop
  20. spell — magic
  21. scale — size or range
  22. stand — to bear
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — letters

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