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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. shower — to wash
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. march — the month
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. saw — the tool
  9. march — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. content — the amount
  12. board — a committee
  13. march — the month
  14. board — to get on
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. shower — rain
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kick — in football
  21. content — happy
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. saw — the tool

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