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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · swing · fall · temple · capital · deal

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. capital — money
  4. field — a subject
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. field — for sport
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. fall — to drop
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. fall — to drop
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. field — farmland
  14. swing — in golf
  15. capital — a city
  16. fall — the season
  17. deal — to handle
  18. swing — music

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