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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.

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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: tube · safe · march · snap · bank · field · fall · capital

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. capital — a city
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — money
  9. bank — for money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. field — farmland
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bank — of a river
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. fall — the season
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. field — for sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bank — for money
  24. safe — a strongbox

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