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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: tube · cell · safe · bark · plane · mine · straw · chest

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. tube — a container
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cell — in biology
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chest — of your body
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cell — a phone
  14. tube — the underground
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bark — to shout
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — of a tree
  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