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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 116 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. prune — to trim
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. board — to get on
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. prune — to trim
  9. game — a match
  10. swing — to play on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cell — a phone
  19. spring — the season
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. game — wild animals
  22. branch — a division
  23. board — a committee
  24. cell — in biology

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