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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. ground — the earth
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. field — farmland
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. capital — a city
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. net — after costs
  13. field — for sport
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. ground — crushed
  16. capital — money
  17. rule — government
  18. ground — a position
  19. net — for catching
  20. rule — a law
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. net — in sport
  24. field — a subject

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