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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. last — to go on
  3. capital — money
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. key — the most important part
  10. last — finally
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. snap — to click
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. land — to come down
  16. plane — a tool
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. last — final
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. land — ground
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. land — a country
  23. capital — a city
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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