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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 120 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 · tear · mate · cell · field · fork · snap · cap

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mate — a friend
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mate — a partner
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cap — a lid
  21. fork — in a road
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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