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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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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: content · wind · safe · rest · date · cell

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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. date — on the calendar
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cell — a phone
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wind — moving air

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