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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitch — completely
  3. field — for sport
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fall — to drop
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. present — a gift
  9. face — to point toward
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. face — to confront
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — the season
  16. field — a subject
  17. capital — money
  18. fork — in a road
  19. present — there
  20. field — farmland
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fall — to drop

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