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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fine — all right
  5. last — final
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. net — for catching
  9. fine — high quality
  10. net — after costs
  11. spring — of water
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. last — to go on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — in music
  18. last — finally
  19. chest — a box
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. net — in sport
  23. spring — the season
  24. scale — size or range

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