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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: net · pit · pop · safe · capital · spell · field · can

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pop — to visit
  3. spell — magic
  4. net — for catching
  5. pit — in a race
  6. can — to be able to
  7. field — for sport
  8. pop — soda
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. field — farmland
  12. capital — a city
  13. net — in sport
  14. can — a tin
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. field — a subject
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. net — after costs
  23. pop — music
  24. can — a tin

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