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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rock · march · file · capital · arm · bass · field · present

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. capital — a city
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. march — the month
  5. bass — the fish
  6. file — a document
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. present — there
  9. march — music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — farmland
  14. present — a gift
  15. rock — a stone
  16. march — the month
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. present — the time now
  20. file — a tool
  21. field — for sport
  22. rock — music
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. capital — money

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