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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: last · mine · safe · chest · rash · object · swing · spring

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. object — a thing
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. spring — of water
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mine — for digging
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rash — a series
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rash — hasty
  17. spring — a coil
  18. swing — music
  19. spring — the season
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chest — a box
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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