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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
468
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: march · field · cell · capital · bat · rock · coach · file

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rock — a stone
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. file — a document
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — a subject
  13. capital — a city
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — for sport
  16. capital — money
  17. field — farmland
  18. march — music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. rock — music

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