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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · season · degree · capital · safe · wind · court · chair

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. field — for sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. season — in sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. court — of law
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. season — of the year
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. court — of a king
  22. chair — a leader
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. court — for sport

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