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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 116 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. field — a subject
  3. mug — a face
  4. capital — money
  5. suit — to fit
  6. capital — a city
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. suit — clothes
  9. band — a music group
  10. suit — in cards
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — farmland
  13. march — the month
  14. mug — to rob
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. field — for sport
  18. band — a ring
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. lean — thin

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