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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · foot · field · safe · straw · spring · capital · present

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. foot — a measure
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. present — a gift
  9. field — for sport
  10. clip — for paper
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. present — there
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. field — farmland
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. capital — a city
  21. field — a subject
  22. present — the time now
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. foot — part of the body

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