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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: wind · capital · toast · firm · bowl · saw · net · field

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. saw — the tool
  5. field — farmland
  6. firm — a company
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. net — for catching
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — after costs
  16. firm — steady
  17. net — in sport
  18. firm — decided
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. toast — bread
  24. toast — the most admired

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