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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 116 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. bulb — for light
  6. saw — the tool
  7. capital — a city
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mine — for digging
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bulb — for light
  16. capital — money
  17. land — a country
  18. field — farmland
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. squash — the sport
  21. perch — the fish
  22. field — a subject
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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