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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. file — a tool
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rule — government
  7. spring — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. capital — a city
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. capital — money
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. face — to confront
  15. spring — the season
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. spring — a coil
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. chest — a box
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. file — a line of people
  24. face — to point toward

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