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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 116 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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. rule — a law
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lean — thin
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rule — government
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. row — a line
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. lean — to bend
  16. capital — money
  17. row — to paddle
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. shower — rain
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mouse — the animal

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