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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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. safe — a strongbox
  4. ground — a position
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tube — the underground
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. ground — the earth
  13. scale — in music
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. file — a tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. fall — the season
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. tube — a container
  21. file — a line of people
  22. scale — size or range
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. file — a document

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