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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: chair · game · pop · tear · band · drill · straw · safe

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. drill — army training
  3. pop — music
  4. drill — the tool
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. tear — from crying
  7. game — wild animals
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. game — a match
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. drill — a practice
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. band — a music group
  24. pop — soda

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