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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. band — a ring
  5. cap — of ice
  6. file — a tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cap — a lid
  10. file — a document
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cap — a hat
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wake — a trail
  21. band — a music group
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. band — a rubber band

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