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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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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: chair · file · safe · pound · fan · face · sharp · tear

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pound — a weight
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a document
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. file — a tool
  14. face — to confront
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. tear — from crying
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chair — a leader
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. tear — to rip

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