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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. field — for sport
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. fine — all right
  9. capital — money
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. squash — to crush
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. fine — high quality
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — a subject
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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