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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: field · bat · season · row · capital · charge · march · racket

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. season — in sport
  5. charge — a price
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. charge — in control
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. capital — a city
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. row — a line
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — a subject
  14. row — to paddle
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. charge — electricity
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. season — of the year
  23. march — music
  24. capital — money

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