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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. capital — money
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. content — happy
  7. kid — child
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. content — the amount
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. capital — a city
  17. wound — an injury
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cell — in a prison

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