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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. mine — for digging
  3. staff — a stick
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. prune — to trim
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bass — low music
  13. staff — employees
  14. board — a committee
  15. cold — not warm
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bass — the fish
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. staff — employees
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. board — to get on
  24. mine — belonging to me

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