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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: safe · club · date · chair · wound · mine · hide · season

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. club — for golf
  7. season — in sport
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. club — a group
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. date — the fruit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. club — for dancing
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. season — of the year
  24. safe — a strongbox

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