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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: saw · safe · bass · kid · cold · dip · content · arm

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — the amount
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. content — happy
  14. saw — the tool
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. kid — child
  21. saw — the tool
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. dip — to dunk

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