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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pop — soda
  3. field — farmland
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. staff — employees
  6. pop — music
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — for sport
  11. staff — a stick
  12. chest — a box
  13. dip — to sink
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — the animal
  20. staff — employees
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pop — to visit
  24. field — a subject

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