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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: trunk · fall · safe · current · cold · field · jam · branch

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. fall — to drop
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cold — an illness
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. fall — the season
  11. current — electric
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. current — of water
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. current — happening now
  23. branch — a division
  24. fall — to drop

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