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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: chest · game · stick · kick · mine · safe · spell · field

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. chest — a box
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. spell — magic
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. spell — letters
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mine — for digging
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. field — a subject
  21. kick — in football
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — farmland

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