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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: tear · pit · safe · date · cold · chair · nail · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pit — a hole
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chair — a leader
  7. date — the fruit
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. club — for dancing
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. club — for golf
  21. cold — not warm
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. cold — the Cold War

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