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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. shower — to wash
  3. track — to keep track
  4. roll — a cake
  5. swing — music
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — to play on
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. mate — a friend
  10. sharp — clever
  11. track — a path
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. mate — to breed
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cold — an illness
  17. shower — rain
  18. swing — in golf
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. mate — a partner
  21. track — a song
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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