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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: stem · capital · safe · race · kid · ground · club · plane

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. club — a group
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. race — humankind
  11. club — for golf
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. ground — a position
  14. race — a contest
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. club — for dancing
  19. plane — a tool
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. race — the arms race
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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