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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. degree — an amount
  3. march — the month
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. march — the month
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — temperature
  15. march — music
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. content — happy

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