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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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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: staff · cell · squash · band · field · saw · wind · safe

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — the tool
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. field — farmland
  9. cell — in biology
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. band — a music group
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wind — moving air
  15. squash — the sport
  16. staff — employees
  17. cell — a phone
  18. field — a subject
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — for sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. band — a rubber band

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