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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 120 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: club · bore · cold · safe · wake · saw · bat · bass

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. bore — to drill
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wake — a trail
  7. cold — not warm
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bass — low music
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. club — for golf
  18. saw — the tool
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — an illness

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