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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: ground · spell · safe · patient · fan · mine · root · last

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. root — of a word
  6. spell — magic
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. root — of a plant
  9. spell — a short time
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. root — the cause
  12. last — to go on
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. spell — letters
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. last — final
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — finally
  24. patient — a sick person

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