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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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Word bank
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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: staff · field · cabinet · cell · pound · capital

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pound — a weight
  3. staff — employees
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. field — a subject
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. capital — a city
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. field — for sport
  18. pound — for dogs

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