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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: staff · mine · wind · safe · pitcher · season · band · kid

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. staff — employees
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. band — a ring
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. mine — for digging
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. band — a music group
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. safe — out of danger

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