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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. rash — a series
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. roll — a list
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. club — for dancing
  9. can — to be able to
  10. capital — money
  11. rash — hasty
  12. field — farmland
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. can — a tin
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. field — a subject
  17. cell — in biology
  18. club — a group
  19. capital — a city
  20. club — for golf
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. can — a tin

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