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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: fan · wound · suit · capital · field · firm · spring · kid

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. firm — a company
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spring — of water
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wound — an injury
  8. field — for sport
  9. capital — money
  10. suit — clothes
  11. firm — steady
  12. spring — the season
  13. wound — an injury
  14. suit — to fit
  15. field — farmland
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kid — to tease
  18. firm — decided
  19. field — a subject
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. suit — in cards
  23. kid — child
  24. spring — a coil

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