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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · leaves · pitcher · cold · degree · stock · drill · spring

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. drill — army training
  3. spring — of water
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — goods
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spring — the season
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stock — shares
  14. degree — an amount
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. degree — temperature
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. drill — the tool
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. spring — a coil

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