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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: season · cold · lean · band · shower · bay · safe · snap

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lean — thin
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. snap — to click
  9. band — a ring
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. shower — rain
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. cold — an illness
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. cold — the Cold War

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