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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: date · safe · club · pit · ground · field · cell · straw

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cell — a phone
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. club — for golf
  6. ground — a position
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. ground — crushed
  11. club — for dancing
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — in a race
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. field — farmland
  23. club — a group
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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