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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stand — to bear
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. scale — in music
  10. kid — child
  11. mine — for digging
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. deal — to handle
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. bat — the animal
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. mine — belonging to me

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