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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. last — finally
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. lean — to bend
  8. kick — in football
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — to go on
  11. lean — thin
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cap — a lid
  18. field — farmland
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. last — final
  24. field — for sport

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