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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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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: field · saw · wound · foot · capital · safe · season · spell

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. capital — money
  3. spell — a short time
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. season — in sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. season — of the year
  13. foot — a measure
  14. saw — the tool
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. field — a subject
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. spell — letters

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