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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. land — ground
  3. scale — size or range
  4. ground — crushed
  5. chest — of your body
  6. roll — a list
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. scale — in music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to click
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. land — a country
  14. ground — a position
  15. chest — of your body
  16. ground — the earth
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chest — a box
  19. roll — a cake
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. land — to come down

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