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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. staff — employees
  3. land — to come down
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. land — a country
  6. tube — a container
  7. march — the month
  8. land — ground
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tube — the underground
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — happy
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. clip — a video
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. content — the amount
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. bear — the animal
  24. staff — a stick

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