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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 120 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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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. safe — a strongbox
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. field — for sport
  7. kid — child
  8. spell — letters
  9. field — farmland
  10. wake — a trail
  11. branch — a division
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. field — a subject
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. root — the cause
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pitcher — a jug

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