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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. land — a country
  6. press — newspapers
  7. land — ground
  8. march — music
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. field — for sport
  11. press — a publisher
  12. capital — money
  13. field — a subject
  14. land — to come down
  15. press — to push
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. vault — a safe
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. stem — to come from
  23. capital — a city
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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