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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · cell · chair · bark · safe · cold

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bark — to shout
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. chair — a leader

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