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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. field — a subject
  3. capital — money
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fall — the season
  11. land — ground
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. field — farmland
  15. mark — a grade
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. capital — a city
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chair — a leader
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. field — for sport
  24. fall — to drop

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