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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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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: safe · shower · wake · court · field · cabinet · march · chip

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. field — a subject
  9. shower — rain
  10. wake — a trail
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. court — of law
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. chip — for betting
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — farmland
  21. march — music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. field — for sport

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