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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. face — to point toward
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. last — final
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. race — the arms race
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. last — finally
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cold — not warm
  12. last — to go on
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. kid — child
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kid — to tease
  19. race — a contest
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. race — humankind
  23. cold — an illness
  24. face — to confront

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