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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: pit · safe · date · land · swing · sharp · chest · temple

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. swing — to play on
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chest — a box
  6. land — ground
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. pit — a hole
  11. land — a country
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. swing — music
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chest — of your body
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. sharp — clever
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — the fruit
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. pit — in a race

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