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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: safe · craft · content · band · game · cold · saw · coach

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. craft — boats
  3. content — the amount
  4. game — a match
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. craft — a skill
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. content — happy
  21. saw — the tool
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. game — wild animals
  24. content — videos and posts

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