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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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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: mate · wind · safe · roll · cold · tube · bear · stem

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tube — a container
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — a list
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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