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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: safe · swing · march · bulb · rush · prune · chest · last

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. march — the month
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. chest — of your body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — final
  7. swing — to play on
  8. last — to go on
  9. bulb — for light
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. prune — to trim
  15. swing — music
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. march — music
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. prune — the fruit

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