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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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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: season · hand · safe · drill · pop · mine · wind · mouse

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pop — music
  4. season — in sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pop — to visit
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. season — of the year
  13. drill — army training
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. drill — a practice
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wind — moving air
  20. hand — help
  21. mine — for digging
  22. pop — soda
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wind — to turn a key

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