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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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. row — to paddle
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. last — to go on
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. spring — of water
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. last — final
  21. row — a line
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. last — finally

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