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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chest — of your body
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chest — a box
  13. wound — an injury
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. staff — employees
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. staff — a stick
  23. prune — to trim
  24. cabinet — ministers

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