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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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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: mate · straw · cabinet · lean · field · fork · arm · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. field — for sport
  3. mate — to breed
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mate — a friend
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fork — in a road
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. lean — to bend
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lean — thin
  24. straw — dry grass

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