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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spell — letters
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cue — a hint
  13. spell — magic
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — after costs
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cue — for pool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — child
  21. field — a subject
  22. cue — a signal
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wound — an injury

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