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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. spring — of water
  3. tube — the underground
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. spring — a coil
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. drill — the tool
  13. deal — to handle
  14. drill — army training
  15. game — a match
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tube — a container
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spring — the season
  24. drill — a practice

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