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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: date · shower · safe · coach · chest · mark · fall · stick

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mark — a trace
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — to wash
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chest — a box
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mark — a grade
  23. fall — the season
  24. date — the fruit

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