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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cell — in biology
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mine — for digging
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. cell — a phone
  20. band — a music group
  21. hand — in cards
  22. band — a ring
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stem — of a plant

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