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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. tear — to rip
  11. row — a line
  12. field — farmland
  13. drill — army training
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fork — in a road
  21. drill — the tool
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. row — to paddle

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