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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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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: board · capital · race · field · hide · bowl · cell · fall

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. fall — the season
  4. capital — money
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — a contest
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a city
  14. board — to get on
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. board — a committee
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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