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

Word bank: capital · court · pound · row · track · safe · snap · field

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. row — a line
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. court — for sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. court — of law
  8. track — to keep track
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. field — for sport
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. field — farmland
  13. court — of a king
  14. track — a song
  15. capital — a city
  16. field — a subject
  17. row — to paddle
  18. capital — money
  19. track — a path
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. snap — to click
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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