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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: cap · coach · date · kid · chair · safe · bulb · wound

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. date — the fruit
  3. kid — child
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bulb — for light
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cap — of ice
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cap — a lid
  24. chair — a professorship

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