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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. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. root — of a plant
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — child
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. root — the cause
  13. kid — to tease
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. degree — from a university
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. band — a ring
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. band — a music group
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. root — of a word
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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