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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: cold · cell · net · leaves · safe · kid · firm · rash

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. net — in sport
  5. cold — an illness
  6. net — after costs
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kid — child
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. firm — steady
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. kid — to tease
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. net — for catching
  23. cold — not warm
  24. leaves — to go away

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