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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. chair — a leader
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. march — the month
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. tube — a container
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — the underground
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. roll — a list
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. roll — on a roll

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