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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — farmland
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — government
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. capital — money
  9. mate — a friend
  10. staff — employees
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. field — a subject
  13. staff — a stick
  14. rule — a law
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. field — for sport
  18. mate — a partner
  19. staff — employees
  20. wind — moving air
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bat — the animal
  24. capital — a city

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