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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wound — an injury
  5. court — of a king
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. present — the time now
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. court — for sport
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. court — of law
  18. land — to come down
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stem — of a plant

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