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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: mine · cold · stem · safe · chest · wind · sharp · mark

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. sharp — clever
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — with an edge

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