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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: safe · saw · last · deal · content · kid · face · pop

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. kid — child
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. kid — to tease
  5. face — to point toward
  6. saw — the tool
  7. content — happy
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pop — soda
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — music
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. last — to go on
  19. deal — to handle
  20. saw — the tool
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. face — to confront
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. content — the amount

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