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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · safe · field · cap · tear · scale

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — a group
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. club — for dancing
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — a lid
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — in music
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. field — for sport
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. field — farmland
  18. scale — size or range

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