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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: wind · fine · hand · safe · current · last · bat · field

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. last — finally
  3. field — a subject
  4. fine — high quality
  5. hand — in cards
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. last — to go on
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — happening now
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. current — electric
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. current — of water
  17. hand — help
  18. fine — all right
  19. last — final
  20. field — for sport
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wind — to turn a key

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