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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: nail · safe · game · pitch · field · bay · spring · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. spring — the season
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. field — a subject
  7. kid — child
  8. spring — of water
  9. game — wild animals
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. game — a match
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. field — farmland
  24. nail — on a finger

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