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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. field — for sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bank — for money
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. field — farmland
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. mine — for digging
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. field — a subject
  12. season — of the year
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. season — in sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. capital — a city
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. capital — money
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. kid — child

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