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

Word bank: safe · fall · field · cold · branch · stick · foot · prune

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. foot — a measure
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fall — the season
  11. branch — a division
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. field — farmland
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — a subject
  19. prune — to trim
  20. fall — to drop
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — for sport
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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