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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. safe — out of danger
  2. game — wild animals
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stem — to come from
  5. game — a match
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. prune — to trim
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mate — to breed
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — clever
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. last — final
  14. mate — a friend
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. last — to go on
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. deal — to handle
  21. last — finally
  22. mate — a partner
  23. deal — an agreement
  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