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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: lean · cabinet · stem · safe · field · bound · hide · can

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — farmland
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. bound — obliged
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. can — to be able to
  13. lean — thin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bound — tied together
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. can — a tin
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bound — certain
  20. field — for sport
  21. stem — to come from
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. can — a tin

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