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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kid — child
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. field — for sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. club — for golf
  7. charge — a price
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. drill — a practice
  10. club — a group
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. charge — in control
  13. capital — money
  14. field — a subject
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — of the year
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. season — in sport
  22. charge — electricity
  23. field — farmland
  24. club — for dancing

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