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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: bat · mine · safe · straw · cold · present · race · mark

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mark — a grade
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. race — the arms race
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mark — a trace
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. race — a contest
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bat — the animal
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. present — the time now
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mine — belonging to me

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