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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. object — a thing
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — farmland
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. date — the fruit
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. object — an aim
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. capital — a city
  19. fork — in a road
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. capital — money
  22. object — to protest
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. safe — a strongbox

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