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

Word bank: shower · cold · club · chair · content · stand · safe · temple

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. club — a group
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stand — to bear
  13. content — the amount
  14. club — for golf
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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