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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: pitcher · cap · safe · spell · date · wind · stem · straw

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — letters
  4. cap — of ice
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cap — a hat
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cap — a lid
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. date — the fruit
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. spell — magic
  24. safe — a strongbox

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