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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. field — farmland
  3. march — the month
  4. capital — a city
  5. club — a group
  6. object — an aim
  7. capital — money
  8. object — a thing
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. march — music
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. pit — in a race
  19. object — to protest
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. bat — in an idiom

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