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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: safe · cell · last · swing · wind · root

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. last — to go on
  4. root — the cause
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — final
  9. root — of a word
  10. last — finally
  11. swing — in golf
  12. root — of a plant
  13. swing — music
  14. cell — in biology
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cell — a phone
  18. safe — out of danger

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