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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: season · drill · cold · prune · foot · hide · safe · ground

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. season — in sport
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — of the year
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. ground — crushed
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — a measure
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. ground — the earth
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. drill — army training
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — a position
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cold — not warm

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