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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — for sport
  4. land — a country
  5. root — of a word
  6. last — final
  7. land — ground
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. present — a gift
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. present — there
  16. capital — a city
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. club — for golf
  23. present — the time now
  24. last — finally

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