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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. rock — music
  3. ground — a position
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rock — a stone
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. ground — the earth
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. last — final
  14. board — a committee
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. fine — all right
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — crushed
  20. staff — employees
  21. last — finally
  22. shower — to wash
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. shower — rain

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