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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — to drop
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. court — of a king
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. fall — to drop
  14. court — for sport
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fall — the season
  17. field — a subject
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. root — of a plant
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. court — of law
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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