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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: march · safe · craft · row · cue · mine · sharp · date

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cue — a hint
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. craft — boats
  8. date — the fruit
  9. march — music
  10. row — a line
  11. mine — for digging
  12. sharp — clever
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. row — to paddle
  15. march — the month
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. march — the month
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. cue — a signal
  21. craft — a skill
  22. cue — for pool
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. date — on the calendar

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