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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: field · chair · calf · cell · drill · lie · foot · capital

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. capital — a city
  5. drill — a practice
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. drill — army training
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. foot — a measure
  14. field — for sport
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. lie — to recline
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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