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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wound — an injury
  3. staff — employees
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pop — music
  6. staff — a stick
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pop — to visit
  16. degree — temperature
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. pit — a hole
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pop — soda
  23. wound — an injury
  24. staff — employees

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