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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. game — a match
  4. file — a document
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. file — a tool
  18. craft — a skill
  19. file — a line of people
  20. game — wild animals
  21. capital — money
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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