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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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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: straw · wave · ball · cell · safe · kid · last · cap

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. last — finally
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. kid — child
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cell — in biology
  12. last — final
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cap — a hat
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cell — a phone
  24. last — to go on

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