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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. field — a subject
  3. wound — an injury
  4. can — to be able to
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. field — farmland
  7. can — a tin
  8. snap — to click
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. field — for sport
  11. last — to go on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. can — a tin
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bark — to shout
  21. last — final
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. last — finally

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