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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: chest · kid · club · race · present · ground · safe · file

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. race — humankind
  3. present — a gift
  4. chest — a box
  5. file — a line of people
  6. race — a contest
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — for golf
  10. present — there
  11. ground — the earth
  12. file — a tool
  13. ground — a position
  14. race — the arms race
  15. kid — child
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kid — to tease
  21. ground — crushed
  22. file — a document
  23. present — the time now
  24. safe — out of danger

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