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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. field — farmland
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a city
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cap — of ice
  11. field — a subject
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. chip — to eat
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. field — for sport
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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