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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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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: date · nail · mark · safe · land · board · cold · track

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. cold — not warm
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. track — a path
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. board — to get on
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. land — to come down
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. mark — a trace
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. date — the fruit
  17. land — ground
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — to keep track
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. board — a committee
  23. track — a song
  24. land — a country

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