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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: staff · safe · game · straw · cold · tube · vault · land

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. vault — a safe
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. staff — employees
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. land — ground
  13. tube — the underground
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. land — to come down
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. staff — a stick
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. land — a country
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. staff — employees

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