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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: bat · bear · cold · fan · safe · chest · spring · bay

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. chest — of your body
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spring — the season
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. spring — of water
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — a box
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fan — a supporter

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