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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: land · sharp · safe · degree · mate · lie · stem · bass

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. bass — low music
  3. land — a country
  4. sharp — clever
  5. lie — to recline
  6. degree — temperature
  7. land — to come down
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. land — ground
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bass — the fish

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