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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: cold · safe · kick · mine · pit · swing · chest · patient

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chest — a box
  3. kick — in football
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. swing — music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pit — a hole

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