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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 120 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: pass · arm · row · chest · safe · content · cold · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. content — the amount
  5. row — a line
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chest — a box
  9. cold — an illness
  10. key — the most important part
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. key — in music
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. content — happy
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. row — to paddle
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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