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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: safe · cap · squash · straw · field · march · bat · bay

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. field — a subject
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. field — farmland
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. field — for sport
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. march — the month
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. march — music
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cap — a hat
  23. squash — to crush
  24. straw — a straw man

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