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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. can — a tin
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. object — to protest
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. field — farmland
  7. spring — the season
  8. race — humankind
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. object — a thing
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. race — the arms race
  13. sharp — clever
  14. can — a tin
  15. object — an aim
  16. race — a contest
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. field — a subject
  20. can — to be able to
  21. field — for sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. kick — in football

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