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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bowl · fine · field · arm · rash · capital · degree

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. field — a subject
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. capital — a city
  6. rash — a series
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. capital — money
  9. march — music
  10. fine — high quality
  11. march — the month
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fine — all right
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. march — the month
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. degree — temperature
  22. field — for sport
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. field — farmland

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