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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: field · degree · calf · spring · capital · suit · clip · net

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. clip — a video
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. suit — in cards
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — farmland
  11. clip — to cut
  12. suit — clothes
  13. capital — money
  14. net — after costs
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. field — for sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. degree — an amount
  23. suit — to fit
  24. degree — temperature

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