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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: safe · pit · fine · mine · sharp · court · tube · last

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fine — high quality
  7. pit — a hole
  8. last — finally
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. fine — all right
  16. pit — in a race
  17. court — of law
  18. tube — the underground
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. tube — a container
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — for sport

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