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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 · leaves · content · pit · mug · land · shower · capital

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. land — a country
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. land — to come down
  5. shower — to wash
  6. field — for sport
  7. mug — a cup
  8. field — a subject
  9. mug — to rob
  10. pit — in a race
  11. field — farmland
  12. pit — a hole
  13. capital — a city
  14. shower — rain
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. capital — money
  18. mug — a face
  19. content — the amount
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. land — ground
  24. capital — a big letter

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