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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: date · club · bank · fall · cold · band · safe · chest

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. club — for golf
  4. bank — for money
  5. fall — the season
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. bank — of a river
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. club — for dancing
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. club — a group
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — to drop

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