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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: field · squash · wind · stand · ground · capital · face · wave

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. face — to point toward
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. capital — a city
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. field — for sport
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stand — to bear
  12. ground — crushed
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — a position
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — to confront
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. ground — the earth
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wind — to turn a key

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