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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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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wound — an injury
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. hand — in cards
  8. content — happy
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — magic
  11. wound — an injury
  12. land — ground
  13. content — the amount
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. mark — a grade
  19. hand — help
  20. spell — a short time
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. land — a country
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. land — to come down

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