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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. kid — child
  4. spring — of water
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. root — the cause
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fine — all right
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. drill — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. root — of a word
  16. clip — a video
  17. root — of a plant
  18. drill — a practice
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. spring — a coil
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fine — high quality
  24. spring — the season

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