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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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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. rest — a break
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. sharp — clever
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bass — low music
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — for digging
  18. content — the amount
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. cold — an illness

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