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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: ground · capital · coach · scale · squash · land · deal · field

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. ground — a position
  3. land — to come down
  4. ground — the earth
  5. land — a country
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. land — ground
  8. squash — to crush
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. field — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. capital — a city
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. field — farmland
  15. scale — in music
  16. capital — money
  17. field — a subject
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. ground — crushed
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. scale — size or range
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  24. deal — to handle

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