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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. capital — a city
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. field — for sport
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. toast — bread
  9. capital — money
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. ground — the earth
  13. field — farmland
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. field — a subject
  18. mine — for digging

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