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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bore — to tire
  3. march — the month
  4. race — a contest
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stem — to come from
  8. race — humankind
  9. cold — an illness
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to drill
  15. march — music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — not warm
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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