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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: toast · shower · chest · plane · safe · mug · field · chair

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — a subject
  4. chair — a leader
  5. field — farmland
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. mug — a cup
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. shower — to wash
  12. field — for sport
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. shower — rain
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. plane — a tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mug — to rob
  20. chest — a box
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mug — a face

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