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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 116 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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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: tear · racket · chip · field · capital · pass · cell · bulb

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — money
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. field — farmland
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bulb — for light
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chip — for betting
  16. field — a subject
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — in biology

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