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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. field — farmland
  4. drill — army training
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cell — a phone
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. field — for sport
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. capital — a city
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. drill — the tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. fan — a supporter

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