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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hand — in cards
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. degree — an amount
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. chip — to eat
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. degree — temperature
  15. hand — help
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. swing — to play on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. chip — for betting

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