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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 116 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. last — finally
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. net — for catching
  10. last — to go on
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. net — in sport
  13. branch — a division
  14. last — final
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. net — after costs
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. hand — help
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bat — in an idiom

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