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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 · deal · cell · season · chest · last · stem · date

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. 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. safe — out of danger
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. last — finally
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chest — of your body
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. season — in sport
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. last — final
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — to go on
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. season — of the year
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. 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