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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. stem — to come from
  3. root — of a word
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. land — to come down
  7. field — farmland
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. root — the cause
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. land — a country
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. land — ground
  18. field — for sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — a subject
  21. scale — in music
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stem — a stem cell

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