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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 120 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: capital · field · lash · foot · chest · squash · fine · stand

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. foot — a measure
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. squash — the sport
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. capital — money
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fine — high quality
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. field — for sport
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. stand — to bear
  23. chest — a box
  24. stand — on your feet

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