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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. staff — employees
  5. capital — a city
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. staff — employees
  8. field — for sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. field — farmland
  13. staff — a stick
  14. tube — a container
  15. field — a subject
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. season — of the year
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. capital — money
  24. tube — the underground

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