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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. drill — army training
  3. saw — the tool
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — humankind
  7. prune — to trim
  8. shower — rain
  9. race — a contest
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. perch — the fish
  14. drill — a practice
  15. race — the arms race
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — the tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. root — the cause
  23. shower — to wash
  24. perch — for a bird

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