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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 116 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: ball · stock · safe · perch · cabinet · field · last · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. stock — goods
  3. field — a subject
  4. ball — a dance
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. last — final
  10. field — farmland
  11. last — to go on
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. field — for sport
  16. capital — money
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stock — shares
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. last — finally
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. perch — the fish
  24. ball — a great time

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