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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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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: march · chip · toast · swing · safe · spring · kid · last

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. march — music
  7. last — final
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chip — for betting
  11. kid — child
  12. last — to go on
  13. chip — to eat
  14. last — finally
  15. kid — to tease
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — the season
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. swing — to play on
  23. march — the month
  24. toast — bread

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