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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. capital — a city
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. capital — money
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — the earth
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. face — to point toward
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. face — part of the head
  14. ground — a position
  15. field — for sport
  16. lean — thin
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ground — crushed
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. field — a subject
  21. face — to confront
  22. stand — to bear
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chair — a leader

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