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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · board · fan · rash · key · bark · cold · safe

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rash — hasty
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bark — to shout
  6. board — to get on
  7. rash — a series
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. board — a committee
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. cold — not warm
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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