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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: march · snap · capital · pitcher · race · field · game · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. field — a subject
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. race — the arms race
  5. capital — money
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. march — the month
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. march — the month
  11. row — to paddle
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a city
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. march — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — for sport
  23. snap — to click
  24. game — a match

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