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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: field · content · capital · pit · board · hide · spring · game

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. pit — in a race
  3. board — a committee
  4. content — the amount
  5. field — for sport
  6. board — to get on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. pit — a hole
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. capital — money
  13. content — happy
  14. game — a match
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. game — wild animals
  17. spring — a coil
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. capital — a city
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. spring — of water

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