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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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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: face · patient · wind · safe · cell · content

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. content — happy
  11. face — to confront
  12. content — the amount
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cell — in biology

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