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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. capital — a city
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. suit — to fit
  6. pop — soda
  7. field — for sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. field — a subject
  10. pop — to visit
  11. rush — hurry
  12. field — farmland
  13. capital — money
  14. pop — music
  15. kid — to tease
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. kid — child
  22. suit — clothes
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitcher — a jug

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