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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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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: squash · present · capital · cabinet · field · safe · swing · fork

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. present — there
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. fork — in a road
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. capital — money
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. capital — a city
  21. field — a subject
  22. swing — music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cabinet — ministers

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