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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: foot · club · spring · pitch · field · capital · track · coach

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. capital — a city
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. spring — the season
  6. track — a path
  7. club — for dancing
  8. field — a subject
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — money
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. field — farmland
  15. club — a group
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pitch — completely
  18. foot — a measure
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. club — for golf
  21. spring — of water
  22. track — a song
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. field — 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