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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 120 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: sharp · fall · pass · cap · capital · field · land · game

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — a country
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. land — to come down
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cap — a lid
  9. capital — money
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. game — wild animals
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. fall — the season
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cap — a hat
  17. game — a match
  18. land — ground
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. capital — a city
  21. cap — of ice
  22. field — for sport
  23. pass — to succeed
  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