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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: race · nail · safe · field · net · bulb · leaves · mine

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. field — a subject
  5. net — for catching
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. bulb — for light
  10. field — farmland
  11. bulb — for light
  12. field — for sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. net — in sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. race — humankind
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. race — a contest

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