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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. ground — crushed
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. race — humankind
  5. file — a document
  6. bass — the fish
  7. key — for a lock
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bass — low music
  10. spring — of water
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. race — a contest
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. race — the arms race
  19. spring — the season
  20. file — a tool
  21. rush — hurry
  22. key — in music
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. spring — a coil

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