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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. cell — in biology
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. mine — for digging
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. capital — a city
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. capital — money
  17. cell — a phone
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. leaves — to go away

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