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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: chest · tube · safe · scale · mine · club · last · roll

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. roll — a list
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. tube — a container
  5. chest — a box
  6. last — final
  7. club — for dancing
  8. roll — a cake
  9. club — for golf
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. last — finally
  12. scale — in music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tube — the underground
  16. club — a group
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. scale — size or range

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