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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. spring — the season
  7. field — for sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. land — a country
  11. mate — a partner
  12. capital — a city
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mate — a friend
  15. field — a subject
  16. perch — the fish
  17. spring — a coil
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a big letter

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