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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: rush · safe · content · ground · face · nail · club · cold

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. club — a group
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. ground — a position
  10. face — to confront
  11. ground — crushed
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. club — for dancing
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — not warm
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ground — the earth
  20. club — for golf
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cold — an illness
  23. content — happy
  24. cold — the Cold War

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