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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — money
  3. bear — the animal
  4. row — a line
  5. bat — the animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. field — a subject
  11. craft — boats
  12. bear — the animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — for sport
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. craft — a skill
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bear — to put up with

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