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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. land — to come down
  4. dip — to sink
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. land — a country
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitch — completely
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rash — a series
  16. field — farmland
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. band — a music group
  20. land — ground
  21. rash — hasty
  22. band — a ring
  23. capital — money
  24. dip — a sauce

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