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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cue — a hint
  6. lean — to bend
  7. row — a line
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cue — for pool
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. ground — the earth
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cue — a signal
  16. lean — thin
  17. game — a match
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cold — not warm
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. ground — a position
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — to paddle

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