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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. field — a subject
  5. band — a music group
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. hand — help
  8. capital — a city
  9. hand — in cards
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. field — farmland
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. field — for sport
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. land — a country
  16. band — a ring
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. land — ground
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. capital — money
  24. land — to come down

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