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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chest — of your body
  4. drill — army training
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. march — the month
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. march — music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. chest — a box
  22. drill — a practice
  23. last — to go on
  24. chest — of your body

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