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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 116 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: stem · safe · land · deal · wound · field · ruler · clip

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. land — to come down
  4. clip — a video
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. stem — to come from
  7. land — a country
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. land — ground
  12. clip — for paper
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. deal — to handle
  19. field — farmland
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. ruler — for measuring

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