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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — farmland
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wound — an injury
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bore — to drill
  11. dip — to sink
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. roll — a cake
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. spring — a coil
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. roll — a list
  21. field — a subject
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. field — for sport

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