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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — in sport
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. scale — in music
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mine — for digging
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. scale — size or range
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. mine — an explosive

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