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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. field — farmland
  3. capital — money
  4. staff — employees
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. capital — a city
  8. fall — the season
  9. file — a tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. file — a line of people
  12. field — for sport
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. field — a subject
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a document
  19. staff — employees
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — boats
  24. staff — a stick

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