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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: leaves · straw · sharp · chest · pop · ground · game · safe

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pop — to visit
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pop — soda
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. pop — music
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. chest — a box
  12. ground — the earth
  13. sharp — clever
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. game — wild animals
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. chest — of your body
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — a match
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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