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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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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 · swing · kid · wind · file · ground · present · stem

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ground — a position
  5. file — a document
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a line of people
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. swing — to play on
  11. file — a tool
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. swing — music
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. wind — to turn a key

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