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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. cold — an illness
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for golf
  6. chair — a leader
  7. club — for dancing
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. ball — a great time
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. craft — a skill
  13. ball — a dance
  14. capital — a city
  15. spell — magic
  16. craft — boats
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. spell — letters
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — a short time
  23. capital — money
  24. safe — out of danger

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