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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: fan · safe · plane · row · track · pass · chest · last

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. last — final
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. plane — a tool
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. pass — a permit
  9. chest — a box
  10. track — a song
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. last — finally
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — to go on
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. plane — an aircraft

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