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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: safe · wave · fall · swing · cold · mug · key · rule

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. rule — a law
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. mug — a cup
  9. key — in music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — the most important part
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mug — a face
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. swing — music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rule — government
  24. safe — out of danger

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