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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. club — for golf
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — an illness
  9. club — for dancing
  10. mine — for digging
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. season — of the year
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. club — a group
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stem — to come from
  23. season — in sport
  24. sharp — with an edge

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