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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. roll — a list
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cell — a phone
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. chest — a box
  13. prune — to trim
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. roll — a cake
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. saw — the tool
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fine — all right

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