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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.

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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: straw · squash · safe · cell · wake · scale · rash · bore

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rash — hasty
  3. squash — to crush
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cell — a phone
  11. scale — size or range
  12. rash — a series
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bore — to tire
  16. squash — the sport
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. scale — in music
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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