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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 112 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: safe · swing · spell · content · bat · bear · land · pitcher

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. spell — magic
  3. bear — the animal
  4. land — to come down
  5. content — happy
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. land — a country
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. content — the amount
  12. spell — a short time
  13. swing — music
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. spell — letters
  17. land — ground
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bat — the animal
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. safe — a strongbox

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