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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: bound · club · safe · cell · dip · game · tear · cap

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. dip — a sauce
  2. tear — from crying
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. club — for golf
  5. dip — to sink
  6. game — wild animals
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bound — certain
  11. cap — a hat
  12. game — a match
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cell — a phone
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cap — of ice
  23. club — a group
  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