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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. field — for sport
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. staff — employees
  7. field — farmland
  8. mate — a friend
  9. game — a match
  10. object — a thing
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. object — to protest
  14. mate — a partner
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mate — to breed
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cold — an illness
  24. object — an aim

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