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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: present · field · cell · object · rest · kick · capital · can

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. kick — in football
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — in biology
  7. can — to be able to
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. object — a thing
  11. rest — what's left
  12. capital — money
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. can — a tin
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — for sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. object — an aim
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rest — a break
  24. can — a tin

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