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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. land — ground
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. saw — the tool
  8. season — of the year
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — help
  12. land — a country
  13. season — in sport
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pound — a weight
  18. land — to come down
  19. branch — a division
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pound — for dogs

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