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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — finally
  5. fine — all right
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wound — an injury
  9. key — in music
  10. fine — high quality
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — in biology
  14. last — final
  15. chair — a leader
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. file — a document
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. last — to go on
  22. file — a line of people
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. file — a tool

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