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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: temple · saw · cold · bay · snap · court · safe · date

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. date — the fruit
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. court — of law
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. court — of a king
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. saw — the tool
  22. court — for sport
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. temple — a place of worship

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