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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.

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: sharp · net · ball · field · capital · squash · drill · face

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. field — a subject
  4. ball — a great time
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. net — after costs
  7. capital — a city
  8. face — to point toward
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. field — for sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. net — in sport
  13. squash — the sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — farmland
  21. drill — army training
  22. squash — to crush
  23. capital — money
  24. sharp — exactly

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