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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. field — farmland
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stand — to bear
  5. spring — of water
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. spring — the season
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mine — for digging
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. spring — a coil
  19. field — a subject
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. field — for sport

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