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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. ball — a dance
  4. file — a tool
  5. cell — a phone
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cell — in biology
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — child
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. file — a line of people
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. kid — to tease
  20. ball — a great time
  21. shower — rain
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. file — a document
  24. ball — a round shape

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