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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. present — a gift
  3. ground — crushed
  4. can — a tin
  5. field — a subject
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. land — a country
  11. can — to be able to
  12. land — ground
  13. field — farmland
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. row — a line
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. ground — the earth
  21. field — for sport
  22. ground — a position
  23. land — to come down
  24. row — to paddle

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