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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — there
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. field — for sport
  6. fork — in a road
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rash — hasty
  13. field — farmland
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — from crying
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — the time now
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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