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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · fan · lean · bat · spell · capital · rule · swing

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — a subject
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. capital — money
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. capital — a city
  10. spell — a short time
  11. swing — to play on
  12. lean — to bend
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. swing — music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. spell — letters
  21. rule — government
  22. field — for sport
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rule — a law

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