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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. game — a match
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. lean — thin
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chest — a box
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. lean — to bend
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bat — the animal
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cap — a lid

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