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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: wound · field · pitcher · wake · spell · bore · stand · capital

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. spell — letters
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. field — for sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wound — an injury
  18. capital — money
  19. bore — to drill
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bore — to tire

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