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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 116 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. march — music
  6. chip — to eat
  7. field — farmland
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — for sport
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chip — for betting

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