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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. spring — a coil
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. field — farmland
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spring — of water
  11. field — for sport
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ground — crushed
  14. field — a subject
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. spring — the season
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bear — the animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. ground — the earth

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