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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: ground · kick · pitcher · safe · cold · perch · stem · branch

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. branch — a division
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kick — in football
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ground — a position
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stem — to come from
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. ground — crushed
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitcher — a jug

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