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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — a subject
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. game — a match
  6. tear — to rip
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — a skill
  9. tear — from crying
  10. charge — in control
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. charge — electricity
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — for sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — farmland
  19. charge — a price
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chair — a leader
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. capital — money
  24. craft — boats

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