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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — money
  3. game — a match
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. track — a path
  6. face — to confront
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. track — to keep track
  9. field — a subject
  10. band — a ring
  11. spell — letters
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. spell — a short time
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. field — for sport
  18. capital — a city
  19. face — to point toward
  20. spell — magic
  21. face — part of the head
  22. track — a song
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. band — a music group

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