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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: deal · capital · field · bay · cell · staff · game · fine

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — a match
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — all right
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fine — high quality
  9. capital — a city
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. field — for sport
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. staff — a stick
  15. deal — to handle
  16. capital — money
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cell — a phone
  19. staff — employees
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. game — wild animals
  24. capital — a big letter

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