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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. staff — employees
  4. hand — in cards
  5. object — an aim
  6. staff — a stick
  7. object — to protest
  8. hand — help
  9. file — a document
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. ground — a position
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. object — a thing
  19. file — a tool
  20. mine — for digging
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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