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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. chip — to eat
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. last — final
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. swing — music
  11. root — of a plant
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. last — finally
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — in golf
  17. chip — for betting
  18. tear — to rip
  19. root — the cause
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — of a word
  23. last — to go on
  24. cell — in biology

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