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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · present · cell · safe · spring · kick

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. present — a gift
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. march — music
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — there
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — in biology
  12. kick — in football
  13. spring — of water
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. spring — the season
  16. present — the time now
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. march — the month

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