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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: safe · land · bear · trunk · capital · swing · fork · date

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. land — a country
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fork — in a road
  7. land — to come down
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. land — ground
  12. capital — a city
  13. swing — music
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. capital — money
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bear — the animal
  22. swing — to play on
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. capital — a big letter

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