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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: cell · mouse · net · march · safe · cold · date · racket

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. net — after costs
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. net — for catching
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — music
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. cold — an illness
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. net — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cell — a phone
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cell — in biology
  24. march — the month

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