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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 116 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: safe · bay · swing · cap · cold · wound · snap · staff

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. staff — employees
  4. cap — a hat
  5. staff — a stick
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cold — not warm
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wound — an injury
  14. snap — to click
  15. staff — employees
  16. swing — music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bay — a horse colour

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