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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. field — farmland
  4. capital — a city
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. mine — for digging
  8. race — the arms race
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. race — a contest
  11. capital — money
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. pit — in a race
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. plane — in geometry

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