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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: lash · chest · pop · safe · stock · cold · spring · snap

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pop — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. pop — soda
  12. spring — the season
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. pop — to visit
  15. stock — goods
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. spring — of water
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. snap — to click
  24. safe — out of danger

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