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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 120 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 · cold · stem · craft · hand · safe · last · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. craft — a skill
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. last — finally
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. last — to go on
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cold — not warm
  14. last — final
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hand — in cards
  18. craft — boats
  19. hand — help
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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