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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 · object · race · pound · date · chest · cold · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. race — the arms race
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pop — soda
  7. object — an aim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. object — to protest
  10. race — a contest
  11. pound — a weight
  12. object — a thing
  13. pop — music
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chest — of your body
  21. race — humankind
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chest — a box

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