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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: last · rest · row · key · safe · hand · kid · saw

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. row — a line
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rest — a break
  9. row — to paddle
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. last — finally
  15. key — in music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rest — what's left
  18. key — for a lock
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. rest — what's left
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. key — the most important part

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