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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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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 · wake · cell · foot · shower · field · charge · file

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. shower — rain
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cell — a phone
  9. field — a subject
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. field — farmland
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. field — for sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — in control
  17. shower — to wash
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wake — a trail
  20. cell — in biology
  21. charge — a price
  22. file — a line of people
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. file — a document

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