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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. spell — letters
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. field — farmland
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. field — for sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — a subject
  13. spell — magic
  14. bear — the animal
  15. can — to be able to
  16. capital — a city
  17. file — a document
  18. can — a tin
  19. file — a tool
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spell — a short time
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. can — a tin

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