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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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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: row · bear · swing · safe · shower · content · wound · wake

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — a line
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — to wash
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. swing — music
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. wake — a trail

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