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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 116 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: spell · field · capital · bay · cabinet · stem · race · bat

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. capital — money
  6. spell — magic
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. race — the arms race
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. capital — a city
  14. spell — letters
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. race — a contest
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. race — humankind
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. field — farmland

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