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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: cell · mine · perch · hide · racket · game · safe · content

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — happy
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. game — wild animals
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in biology
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — for digging
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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