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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. field — for sport
  3. degree — an amount
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. key — for a lock
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. capital — money
  9. key — the most important part
  10. season — in sport
  11. capital — a city
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — a subject
  14. season — of the year
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cap — of ice
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cap — a lid
  19. land — to come down
  20. key — in music
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. field — farmland

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