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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 120 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 · content · safe · rest · cap · fork · trunk · swing

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cap — a lid
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. row — a line
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. swing — in golf
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. content — the amount
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. rest — a break
  14. cap — of ice
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fork — in a road
  18. swing — music
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cap — a hat
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rest — what's left
  24. row — a quarrel

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