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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: fall · stand · board · bat · track · field · capital · land

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — money
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stand — to bear
  10. field — for sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. land — to come down
  13. field — farmland
  14. fall — the season
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. land — ground
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — a committee
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. board — to get on
  23. land — a country
  24. stand — for spectators

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