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

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. land — ground
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. field — a subject
  10. cold — not warm
  11. object — an aim
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. object — to protest
  18. cold — an illness
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. object — a thing
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. safe — out of danger

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