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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bass — low music
  6. race — humankind
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. march — the month
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. capital — a city
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — happy
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bass — the fish

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