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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. last — final
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. hand — help
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. last — finally
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cell — in biology
  22. last — to go on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. safe — out of danger

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