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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: prune · game · last · wave · safe · cold · leaves · chair

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. chair — a leader
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. game — wild animals
  12. prune — to trim
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — final
  20. cold — not warm
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. safe — out of danger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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