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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. stock — shares
  6. scale — in music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stock — goods
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bound — certain
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — a jug

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