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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: swing · safe · game · last · lean · chest · date · chair

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. lean — to bend
  3. swing — to play on
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. last — to go on
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. swing — music
  15. last — finally
  16. date — the fruit
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. chair — a leader
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lean — thin

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