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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. field — a subject
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. field — for sport
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. sharp — clever
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pop — to visit
  15. object — to protest
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. object — an aim
  21. cold — an illness
  22. object — a thing
  23. fork — in a road
  24. field — farmland

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