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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: chair · cold · content · mug · season · sharp · tear · safe

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cold — an illness
  3. season — of the year
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. chair — a leader
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. season — in sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mug — a cup
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — to rob
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. mug — a face
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. sharp — clever
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cold — not warm

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