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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.

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: bear · cabinet · safe · spell · mine · march · cold · ball

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. march — music
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spell — letters
  11. march — the month
  12. ball — a great time
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. march — the month
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spell — magic

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