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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. firm — steady
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. firm — decided
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. fork — in a road
  7. race — humankind
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. race — a contest
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. date — the fruit
  23. firm — a company
  24. mine — belonging to me

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