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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: rush · safe · rash · field · coach · pitcher · chest · scale

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rush — hurry
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. chest — a box
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — for sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. field — farmland
  19. scale — size or range
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rash — a series
  22. scale — in music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pitcher — a jug

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